Curiosity is not a sin
by Beeezie
Summary: Okay, so maybe jinxing his hair red was a bit of an overreaction. And maybe I shouldn't be eavesdropping on his private conversations and making fun of him about them later. Especially when they're about me. But in my defense... he totally started it.
1. Quidditch Practice and Al's Guilt Trip

As a rule, Rose Weasley had very little to do with Slytherin House.

She didn't avoid Slytherin House because of its old reputation. That would have been stupid. She avoided it because she simply didn't like the qualities that defined Slytherins very much. Gryffindor was just the superior house, because the people in it had the superior attributes.

Whatever Albus and her mother said – and they had quite a bit to say on the subject – there was just something about Slytherins that made her skin crawl. They were so..._calculating._ It simply wasn't _natural_ to be as manipulative and deliberate as most Slytherins were.

Gryffindors, on the other hand, were much more sensible. They did things because they wanted to, not because they thought it would get them something later. They had courage. They had principles. And above all, they had _nerve._

Which was why they were going to stomp the rest of the school in Quidditch for the sixth year running.

That is, assuming her teammates didn't kill her first.

Rose had been working with her friend Natalia on their Herbology assignment in the library when Natalia had asked, curiously, whether Quidditch practice had been canceled.

Rose, who had not been paying very close attention to the time and consequently thought it was significantly earlier than it actually was, had cursed, stuffed her books, parchment, and quill into her bag, and beat a hasty retreat to Gryffindor Tower.

The team was not going to be happy with her.

She was almost fifteen minutes late by the time she burst into the changing room. Her cousin James, was sitting backwards in the chair he and Roxanne had charmed two years before in honour of his being made captain. The lions that had at one point been stationary decorations were constantly on the prowl, moving up and down its legs and across the seat and back.

"Sorry," Rose panted, slumping against the wall next to the door and trying to catch her breath.

"Thank you for finally joining us," her cousin said. His mouth was pursed, and while his glare probably wouldn't have killed her even if looks _could_ kill, it probably would have caused a fair amount of discomfort.

"Anything for you, cuz." She made her way toward the uncomfortable wooden benches facing James and dropped down onto one of them. Her friend Marion squeezed her knee in sympathy. "Thanks," she muttered.

One of the lions had settled onto the back of James's chair. It watched them as he started talking, flicking its tail around and occasionally craning its neck to look up at the dark-haired captain. It was definitely a cool effect, and Rose doubted that any of the other House Quidditch teams had anything like it.

"So," James started, running a hand over his already very messy hair. "We've got a great team. A _winning_ team. I don't need to tell you that."

"But we love to hear it," their cousin Roxanne said. She was sitting on the bench closest to James and leaning forward intently. Rose was not sure whether James had appointed Roxanne as his unofficial co-captain or whether Roxanne had appointed herself, but either way, they made a very good team. They had been Beaters on the team since their second year, and Rose personally thought that they were brilliant.

James allowed a slight smirk to creep across his face. "And I love to say it." His sister Lily coughed pointedly, and he took the hint. "At any rate, since we're shoe-ins to win this year as well, I just want to put you all on notice: I want us to set records that no one will ever beat. I want us to be remembered as the best team this school has ever _seen."_He pounded his fist into his palm.

"Well, we are," said Roxanne, tossing her long braids over her shoulder. She looked exceptionally pleased with herself; if there was anything Roxanne was not, it was humble.

"Yes, but they'd damn well better remember it," Rose said.

James gave her an approving nod. He seemed to have forgiven her for her tardiness. "That's the attitude I want to see. Now, I know we had some grumbles last year, because people were accusing me of favouritism."

Their Keeper, Tyler, who was sitting with Lily and his sister Annabelle on the next bench over, gave a disgusted snort.

When James had had to replace a Seeker and a Chaser at the start of the previous year, he'd held tryouts that ultimately ended in his picking Lily and Annabelle to fill the spots. At the time, some people seemed to think that James had not really been impartial - and admittedly, appointing two second years who both happened to have siblings on the team _had_ seemed a bit suspect - but the season's results had proved them wrong.

"They know better now." He motioned to himself and Roxanne. "We are _terrific_ beaters."

He pointed at Lily. "We have a seeker who has _clearly_ inherited our father's _prodigious_skill."

"Also our mother's." Lily was definitely the classic build for a Seeker; short and slim, she could practically disappear into the sky on a dreary day. Sometimes it was only her bright red hair that allowed them to spot her.

"Also our mother's," James agreed. He nodded at Tyler. "We have an amazing Keeper."

"Thank you." Tyler actually got up and bowed. His white teeth flashed in a startling contrast to his deep brown skin, and his glasses teetered dangerously on the edge of his nose before he straightened and pushed them back up. "Thank you very much."

It occurred to Rose, not for the first time, that her team could really be quite ridiculous.

James swept his hand at the three remaining girls. "And we have a _dynamite_ team of Chasers."

Annabelle leaned over to exchange high fives with Rose and Marion. She and Lily were barely four months apart in age, and like Lily, she had yet to hit her growth spurt. However, what she lacked in height, she more than made up for with her speed and her dexterity.

"Thanks, cousin dear," Rose said.

"Yeah, we really appreciate the vote of confidence," Marion added. She could clearly sense that James's speech was almost over, because she reached behind her and quickly began to gather her kinky curls into a loose braid.

James grinned before continuing. "Now, I know that on most teams, I wouldn't need to say this, but please, let's avoid serious transgressions for the week or so preceding the match. I really don't need anyone in detention for a game."

"What if we're absolutely _sure_ that we won't get caught?" Roxanne asked, her brown eyes shining.

"Then I have to wonder why I'm not there with you," James shot back, and she laughed. "No misbehaving unless I'm there, too."

"That I can live with." Roxanne got to her feet. "I just thought that you wanted to ruin all my fun. I was ready to be very disappointed in you."

"Have you met me?" She grinned, and he swung one leg over the back of the chair and stood. "Come on, we've lost enough daylight as it is. Thanks to Rose," he said pointedly.

"I really am sorry," Rose told him as they grabbed their broomsticks and followed the rest of the team out the door. "I was trying to finish an essay and lost track of time."

He reached out and ruffled her hair. "Just don't let it happen again," he said, trying to look severe.

He failed miserably. James was not very good at looking serious.

Unless, of course, someone was late to Quidditch practice - and Merlin help you if you forgot about one.

She grinned. "I'll do my best."

"Good. I don't want to have to replace you." He kicked off.

She laughed and did the same. James really was one of her favorite cousins.

When they trooped into the dining hall several hours later, Roxanne and James were both covered in dirt. They had taken a break halfway through practice to imitate some of the less talented and more slow-witted Beaters they'd known in their time at Hogwarts. They'd each landed in the dirt at least twice. Neither of them seemed to care.

The sixth years peeled off and sat down toward the end of the table while Rose, Lily, and Annabelle continued on. The latter two joined a group of their fellow third years, including Rose's brother Hugo, about halfway down the table. Rose waved to him and continued up the table until she found her cousin Albus with some of their friends.

She poked him. "Hey, squeeze over." He inched closer toward Colleen, who Rose shared a dormitory with, and she sat down between him and another yearmate named Alex.

Albus handed her a plate. "Here, I saved you some food. I didn't want you to get stuck with what no one else wanted."

The steam of the potatoes and carrots wafted up as she took the plate, and she inhaled deeply. "Thanks, Al."

He smiled. "You're welcome. How was practice?"

"Good," she said around a mouthful of potatoes.

"Do you think we might have a chance of winning this year?" asked Alex in a mock tone of concern.

Rose swallowed. "Oh, I think we've got half a shot," she said airily. "James certainly seems to think so."

Colleen laughed. "Well, I don't envy you getting all your work done with practice and prefect duties on top of it! It's O.W.L. year."

Rose shrugged. "You want to go tell that to James?" Everyone gave a snort of amusement. "No, I'll be fine. I just won't sleep or get caught breaking the rules."

Their friend Damien, who was sitting across from them, shook his head. "You never get caught," he said. "You can be out half the night, and no one ever seems to find you. What's your secret?"

Rose exchanged a glance with Albus, who shook his head seriously. "Sorry. Family secret. If we told you we'd have to kill you."

This was greeted with the usual chorus of laughter, and after a few more minutes of idle conversation, the empty platters were replaced with cakes, pies, and biscuits.

Their fellow fifth years finished dessert before she was even finished with dinner and headed back up to Gryffindor tower, but Albus kept her company until she'd had her fill. By that time, the Great Hall was nearly deserted, and she sighed. "I should probably finish my Herbology essay, huh?"

"Probably," said Albus. "Do you want to join me in the library?"

She looked at him suspiciously. "Who will you be with?" She, James, and Roxanne might be discriminating about their company, but Albus really took all of the interhouse cooperation stuff to heart. You could never tell what kind of people he'd be working with.

The look he gave her was remarkably similar to the one James had given her for being late, but unlike his brother, Albus could hang onto that look for hours at a time if he really wanted to. "You know, if you just gave people half a chance—"

That meant Slytherins. She looked at him, exasperated. "See, this is why I ask."

"Your mother would be very disappointed in you," he told her. The expression on his face said that her mother was not the only one.

She groaned. She hated it when he tried to guilt her. It usually worked. "Just tell me who."

"Scorpius."

Of course it was. Of all of Albus's Slytherin friends, Scorpius Malfoy was by far her least favorite. She rubbed her temples. "Al, I'm _really_ not in the mood to—"

"Rose, you can be such a bigot."

She jerked back, stung. "I'm not a bigot! I just think that Gryffindors make better company!"

"You know, not everyone in Slytherin—"

She put her fingers in her ears. "Lalala I can't hear you." She swung her legs over the bench and walked away. "Bye!"

When she glanced back at him, the irritation had morphed into a look of hurt.

She sighed. After practice, she could use a bath. Maybe she'd put off work a little longer. 

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! If you are so inclined, I would greatly appreciate a review. :)  
_  
_ - Beeezie_


	2. Guilt Trips

When Rose had finished her bath and gathered up the schoolwork she needed to get done, she felt a pang of guilt. Albus really _had_ looked hurt at dinner, and while spending any time with Scorpius Malfoy tended to leave her feeling exceedingly irritated, letting Albus down wasn't sitting well with her conscience.

She sighed and went back down the steps to the common room. James and Roxanne were sitting near the fire; when she came downstairs, they hailed her, and she collapsed into one of the armchairs.

"Albus off with his other friends?" James asked.

Rose wrinkled her nose as she tried to braid her wet hair. It wasn't working very well; she could never understand how girls like Marion could just reach back and do it so easily. "Yeah… I just don't get it. I feel bad, but I just don't get it."

Roxanne watched her struggle for a minute and then rolled her eyes. "Come here," she said, patting the couch. James scooted over to give her room, and Rose said down with her back to Roxanne, who took hold of her hair and began to separate it into three parts.

"I guess he's just a better person than some of us," Roxanne said as she began to twist the parts together. James made a face, and she added, "Oh, come on, James, you know it's true. Albus is probably the nicest little Weasley cousin to attend this school." James gave a half-hearted shrug of acknowledgment, and she wound a hair tie around the end of what, knowing Roxanne, was probably a perfect braid. "Feel okay?" Rose nodded. "You're done, then."

Rose fell back into the couch and shook her head. "Personally, I don't see what the problem is with sticking with the people you like. It's not the history that's the problem. I just don't like Slytherins because I don't like people are calculated, ruthless, annoying..."

"Hear, hear," said James and Roxanne together.

Rose sighed. Despite her cousins' support, the guilt was becoming overwhelming. "I should probably go meet him, anyway. He looked really hurt at dinner when I basically blew him off."

James sighed. His distaste for Slytherin was clearly warring his brotherly instincts. "Maybe you'd better, then. Who's he with, do you know?"

"Yeah." Rose wrinkled her nose. "Scorpius Malfoy."

James and Roxanne both winced. "Well, on your own head be it," Roxanne said.

"Yeah, thanks for taking one for the team," called James after her as she left.

She climbed out of the portrait hole and set off toward the library. Why did Albus have to be such an open-minded person? It must have been his father's influence, which had flown right over James' head, just as Rose's mother's had flown right over hers.

When she got to the library, she spotted Albus over in a corner with Malfoy. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone else there—Al had several Slytherin friends, and the only one she could halfway stand was Noah Nott. The others seemed to hate her quite as much as she hated them, and she didn't like dealing with more than one at a time, especially when Malfoy was involved.

Rose had never quite understood why Scorpius Malfoy disliked her quite as much as he seemed to - she couldn't recall ever doing anything particularly bad to him - but especially over the course of the last year, he'd been getting progressively nastier toward her, even when she really was trying to keep a civil tongue in her head.

Of course, according to Albus, her version of "civil" left a little to be desired, but at least she was trying.

She dropped her books on the table and slid into the chair next to her cousin. He and Malfoy both started and looked up at her.

"I - er - thought I'd get out of the common room for a bit. James and Roxanne will probably be causing some kind of commotion at some point anyway." She smiled sheepishly at Albus, who grinned back.

"Probably." Before she could toss her bag onto the table, too, he reached over a squeezed her hand. "Thanks," he mouthed.

Rose wasn't sure if she felt better because she'd at least managed to make her cousin happy or worse because apparently it didn't take much to do so. Rather than waste time figuring it out, she looked across the table. "Hello." Today, she was determined to be polite to Malfoy. She wouldn't let anything he said bait her.

He stared at her for a minute before forcing a smile onto his face and returning the greeting.

That mission accomplished, Rose pulled out her Herbology homework. She always got her work done, even if it meant not sleeping, but on the rare occasions she did a half-assed job on any of it, she made sure it wasn't Herbology. It was one of her favorite subjects, and Neville was definitely her favorite professor. She refused to let him down.

"Oh, is that Herbology?" asked Albus. "I was having trouble on that, actually. I feel like I missed something about Fanged Geraniums last class, because I have no idea what it has in common with Devil's Snare." He grinned. "Other than that they're both plants, and they both attack people."

Malfoy sighed and rested his head on one of his hands. "I hate Herbology, personally. I can't wait to be done with it."

Rose bristled. "Professor Longbottom is an excellent teacher."

"Did I say he wasn't?" Malfoy asked, looking faintly surprised. "He's a good professor. It's just a stupid subject, and I don't like dirt." Rose resisted the urge to call him a useless pretty-boy as he shot Albus an annoyed look. "And I am never going to forgive you for convincing me to take Care of Magical Creatures."

"Professor Woodmore is _also_ amazing," she snapped.

"Right, because we really need to learn how to take care of acromantulas."

"It could be useful!"

Malfoy looked like he was about to laugh, but managed to quell it at the last moment. He looked back down at his work, and she frowned. He had a good profile.

She shook her head to clear it, helped Albus with the Herbology question, and then returned to her own work. After another half hour, Albus got up. "I'm going to go get something from the kitchens. Do either of you want anything?"

Rose groaned inwardly and tried to send a telepathic signal to her cousin to _please_ not leave her alone with Malfoy.

Albus clearly needed to work on his cousin-telepathy, because he seemed to take her silence as a no and turned away. After Malfoy shook his head, too, Albus left, and Rose looked resolutely down at her schoolwork.

"Tell the truth," said Malfoy's voice, and she looked back up. "Do you _really_ like Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Of course I do." Professor Woodmore could certainly be a bit eccentric sometimes, but she really was a great teacher.

And while she liked acromantulas more than really made sense, she was definitely more tame than Hagrid, who had taught the class in their third year.

Malfoy laughed and looked back at his work. "Whatever you say, Red."

"My name is _Rose."_ She already wanted to kill him. This was why she didn't buy into being all buddy-buddy with the Slytherins. The people in them could be huge jerks.

Though admittedly, most of Albus's friends were not quite as bad as Malfoy.

"Whatever you say, _Rose."_ He pretended to consider it for a minute. "I think I'm going to call you Red, though."

"What is your _problem_, Malfoy?" she demanded through clenched teeth. She tried to call her cousin's smile back to her head as a reminder of why she shouldn't just get up and leave. She was doing this for her cousin. She loved her cousin. Her cousin was her best friend and did any number of favours for her. She owed this to her cousin. She -

"Well, I can't just call you Weasley. There are about a million of you at this school. And if you're going to call me Malfoy, I might as well make it even. Would you prefer Cherry?" He raised his eyebrows at her and pretended to listen attentively. "I'm all ears."

"Go to hell."

"Whatever you say, Cherry." He smirked at her and leaned back in his chair, twirling a quill.

She could feel her ears starting to burn, and was grateful for her mass of curls, which thoroughly hid them. "What is your _problem?"_ she repeated.

"Well, Red, to be honest, I think that you're a bit of a self-satisfied snob." He laid down the quill and cocked his head to the side to study her.

Rose jerked back. _"I'm_ a self-satisfied snob? Well, _you're_ an amoral _git."_

Malfoy shrugged. "At least I don't walk around like I own this school, just because I'm smart and good at Quidditch. Doesn't make you Merlin, you know."

She glared at him and managed to swallow the retorts that were coming to mind. "If I wasn't afraid of hurting Al's feelings, I'd get up and leave right now."

"Aren't you a Gryffindor? Aren't Gryffindors supposed to be _brave?"_ he asked. The chair's front legs met the floor again with a thump. "And here you are, letting fear take over." He shook his head. "Tut-tut, Red."

"It's not the same thing, and you know it." She was now imagining dumping his ink well all over his stupid blond hair. "At least _my_ house doesn't pride itself on being heartless and scheming."

"It's actually _ruthless,"_ he corrected, a glint in his grey eyes. Rose had always rather liked grey eyes, and they were utterly ruined on him. "And we're just ruthless to get what we want."

"Oh, well, that's so much better. As opposed to Gryffindor, where we all actually have strength of character."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Cherry. Say, do you prefer Cherry or Red?" When she just stared at him, he smiled. "I promise I'll go with the one you choose."

She thought for a moment. "Red."

"I'll keep that in mind." He went back to his work. After staring at him for another second or two, wondering how on earth anyone could be so unpleasant, she did the same. When Albus returned, they were both completely absorbed in work, and neither of them spoke to him when he sat down. Rose could see Albus looking from her to Malfoy for a moment before pulling out his Transfiguration essay.

When they left the library at closing, Rose felt that she'd at least been fairly productive, even if dealing with Malfoy had gotten her blood boiling.

When they parted with him at the stairs, Albus called, "See you in Divination, Scorpius!"

"Can't wait," came the answer, several steps below. "Later, Al. I'll see you around, Red."

Albus looked at her. "Red?"

She shook her head and said through gritted teeth, "Ask him."

"Oh, did you get nasty at each other when I went to the kitchens?" He sighed. "Come on, Rose."

"He started it," she snapped. "Why is he your friend again?"

Albus shrugged. "I dunno. Because I like him, I guess."

There were some things about Albus that she would never understand. "Whatever you say."

She could see Albus roll his eyes, but he chose not to reply. "Thanks for coming and making the effort, anyway."

"Was it really that important to you?" she asked.

"Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but yeah." He hesitated. "Look, Rosie, you're a terrific person. It's just nice when you make an effort to get to know my friends who_aren't_ already your friends. Or at least don't actively avoid me just because I'm with them."

She bit her lip. There was altogether too much sense in that for her to argue with. "If it means that much to you, I'll make more of an effort. Even if it just means sitting there ignoring them."

"That's all I'm asking," he said. He put his arm around her shoulder and ruffled her hair. "Thank you, Rosie."

"It's only because you're my favourite cousin," she told him.

"I'm telling James."

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

_A/N: As always, reviews make me smile. Even though this is done, I'm making an effort to edit it a bit, so both crit and praise are awesome. :P_

_Thank you so much to my first reviewers, Luna333L, NotYourTypicalPrincess, and PanicAttack757 all those months ago, who helped me feel like I should keep going. :)_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_- Beeezie_


	3. Plots and Plans

When they reentered the common room, he made a beeline for the stairs to the boy's dormitory, waving goodnight over his shoulder. She shook her head and went over to join James and Roxanne, who'd put homework aside and were playing a match of exploding snap at a table in the corner.

Rose slumped into the chair next to Roxanne, dropped her head onto the table, and groaned.

They both looked over. "That bad?" asked James.

"Worse." Rose looked up at the two of them. "How does _anyone_ get to be quite that unpleasant?"

James glanced around the room. "Albus here?"

"No, he went up to bed." Rose let out a sigh. "Thankfully. I'm making an effort, but god, I can think of _poisons_ that would have been more pleasant than that."

"Well, what was so awful about it?" asked Roxanne. Rose looked at her sharply, and she held up her hands. "I'm not challenging you that it was! I'm wondering what, of the many things he _could_ have done, he _did_ do."

Rose sat up straighter. "Well, he called me a coward."

Their reactions did not disappoint her. "Jerk," they said at the same time, and each cast a threatening glance toward the portrait hole, as though they were contemplating hunting him down right then.

"Well, there's more."

They both looked back at her.

"He basically said that I was a conceited brat. No," she paused, thinking for a moment. "No, he called me a _snob_. He said I walked around like I owned the school."

Her cousins were now wearing identical scowls.

"Prick," James said.

"Useless pretty boy," Roxanne added.

Rose was already starting to feel better. James and Roxanne could have that effect on her.

"Look, Rosie, if you think it's warranted, we'd be happy to go show him not to mess with our baby cousin."

Rose though that Roxanne calling her their baby cousin was slightly rich, considering that both Roxanne and James were less than a year older than she was, but she let it slide.

"Yeah, you know, hex his bag so it breaks," offered James.

"Or charm his stupid hair some ridiculous colour."

"Orange, maybe," suggested James. "Not green, for sure. He'd just wear that as a badge of honour."

"How about red?" Roxanne grinned. "You know, for Gryffindor."

Rose giggled. "I like that. He kept calling me 'Red.' That'd show him." She pulled her braid over her shoulder and fingered it. "I _like_ my hair."

"Oh, he's just trying to get a rise out of you," said Roxanne.

"Yeah, but we'll show him," promised James.

"Don't tell Albus."

They both looked at her. "Do you think that we're stupid?" asked Roxanne.

"Yeah, I don't need him writing home that I'm being a jerk to his friend. I don't mind howlers, but still, if I can avoid them, I try to."

James had gotten many howlers over the course of his Hogwarts career. The year before, he and Roxanne had really gotten into the spirit of Halloween, hexing pumpkins in the Great Hall to shoot off sparks at odd intervals and charming suits of armor in very trafficked areas to randomly shout "Boo!" The caretaker had eventually caught them trying to charm the lights in the Potions classroom to be come out orange. They'd each gotten three detentions, and James's parents had sent him a howler in which his mother yelled that it was all well and good to fool around but that if he had the time to do that then when he took his O.W.L.s at the end of the year he'd better not fail any of them.

Both James and Roxanne maintained that it had totally been worth it.

Rose got up. "I should get to bed," she told them.

They waved goodnight, and put their heads together, clearly brainstormed a good plan for making Malfoy miserable. She smiled. That would teach him to mess with the Weasley clan.

As she changed into her pyjamas and crawled into bed, she realised that this would probably only add fire to his accusation that she walked around like she owned the school.

Oh, well. He was wrong. And who cared what he thought, anyway?

When Rose came down the stairs and entered the Gryffindor common room the next morning, she was surprised to see Roxanne sitting alone at one of the tables reading a book. She made her way over and let her bag slip onto the chair across from her cousin. "What, are you not hungry?" she asked.

Roxanne looked up and grinned. "Starving, actually. But I was waiting for you." She shoved the book she'd been reading into her bag and stood up.

Rose picked her bag back up and slung it over her shoulder. "Me? Why?"

Her cousin pushed the portrait open and climbed out "We need to talk business." She looked positively gleeful. Roxanne's enthusiasm tended to be infectious, and Rose felt a smile spreading across her own face as they climbed out of the portrait hole. "Where does that git have classes today?"

Rose thought as they padded down the corridor. "We've got Care of Magical Creatures is right after you, and History of Magic with the Slytherins at the end of the day."

Roxanne considered that for a moment and shook her head. "No go," she said, and they began descending the stairs. "We've got double Charms last, and I don't fancy us trying to skip out on Harding. She'd probably put us in detention for weeks. What's he got before Care of Magical Creatures?" Her long braids bounced up and down as she skipped the last few steps.

"I think they have Charms with the Hufflepuffs first thing."

Roxanne considered that for a minute. "That has promise." She rubbed her hands together. "Oh, this is going to be _fun."_

When they entered the Great Hall a few minutes later, Roxanne circled around the table to sit down in the empty space next to James while Tyler and Marion moved over to make room for Rose.

"Good news," James said. "Extra Quidditch practice tonight. It's supposed to rain, and I want us to practice playing in adverse conditions more than we did last year."

Judging by his broad grin, he really did regard this as good news, though he was the only one - even Roxanne looked less than enthused by the prospect. When James's definition of the term 'good news' was even lost on Roxanne, there was definitely a problem.

Rose made a face. "Oh, James, but Mondays are terrible for me."

"Why, what do you have today?" he asked. "Out of curiosity. I'm not rescheduling practice."

"Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures..." Rose said, ticking them off on her fingers.

"Oh. You mean that Mondays are physically exhausting."

"Yes." She grabbed several pieces of toast off one of the serving platters. "That's exactly what I mean." She had yet to escape a Monday without some kind of bite or bruise or other injury. Granted, they hadn't had very many Mondays yet, but even so, it was a pattern that she was less than thrilled with.

He shrugged. "Sorry, Rose. Grin and bear it. I have faith in you." He reached for the bowl of fruit to pull out a pear.

"If it makes you feel any better, we've got Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Charms today, too," said Roxanne, eyeing the bacon on her plate. "We'll _all_ be falling off our brooms."

"Well, if you're going to get a black eye in Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology, today's the day," Marion joked. "You won't be able to see through all the rain anyway."

"Hey, Roxanne, has your father invented any new snackboxes James hasn't heard of yet?" asked Tyler. She shook her head and continued to shovel food into her mouth. "Too bad." He looked momentarily crestfallen, but then he brightened. "We could all just boycott practice. He can't get mad at all of us."

"Watch me," James said as he poured himself some juice. He was clearly not taking his team's whining very seriously.

Whatever Roxanne said about the sixth-years' schedule, Rose still felt that she had gotten the worst end of the deal.

"Got back your first homework 'graded to O.W.L. standard' yet?" James asked.

She grimaced. "Yeah." He waved his hand to indicate that she should keep going, and she sighed. "I only got an A in arithmancy." Rose was rather worried about that. Arithmancy had always been one of her favourite subjects, and hearing her cousins Louis and Lucy talk about it had made her excited to continue on with it at N.E.W.T. level, but at this rate, she wouldn't have the necessary mark to do so.

Marion shook her head. "Don't worry about it. You'll bring it up. I got an A on my first arithmancy assignment last year, and when the O.W.L. results came this summer, I'd gotten an O."

"Really?" Rose asked, cheering at the idea.

"Really. You'll be fine, don't worry."

"Nobody gets better than an A their first assignment," Tyler said. Rose looked at him skeptically. "All right, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you really don't need to worry."

Roxanne and James had their heads together and were conversing quietly. Rose heard James mutter, "So you think we should just duck out of Woodmore's class a few minutes early?"

"Yeah, she won't mind."

He was probably right. Professor Woodmore had only been teaching at Hogwarts for a year, and as a former Gryffindor, any mention of the duties of Gryffindor Quidditch team tended to result in less homework or early class dismissals.

Rose cleared her throat. "Speaking of O.W.L.s, how many N.E.W.T.s did you all end up signing up for?"

Roxanne raised her eyebrows. "Why, Rosie, trying to figure out how many you can aim for?" Rose shrugged, and Roxanne's face broke into a smile. "Seven, but we'll see how that goes."

Tyler cupped a hand over his mouth and whispered loudly to Rose, "She's insane."

Roxanne ignored him. "Just see what you still like at the end of the year and how you do on your O.W.L.s."

"I dropped Potions," James said lazily. "I didn't want to be an Auror anyway. I heard that dark creatures are where it's at these days."

"Heard from where?" Marion asked, frowning.

"Somewhere," James said vaguely, and Rose bit her lip to keep from smiling. She knew exactly where he'd heard that; their cousin Victoire was so enthusiastic about her job that she sometimes said more than she really should.

Roxanne looked around. The Great Hall was starting to empty. "I guess we'd better get down to class, especially if James and I want to warn Woodmore that we're leaving a little early. Stick to Albus until you get there, then he can't suspect you."

The five of them got up. The sixth years headed for the door, and Rose went down the table to meet up with Albus and her other friends. She reached them just as they were all getting up and slinging their bags over their shoulders.

"Did James really schedule another practice for tonight?" asked Albus as she fell into step with them. She nodded. "Looks like it's going to rain. That'll be fun to fly in."

Rose looked up at the grey clouds streaming across the ceiling of the Great Hall and barely managed to keep herself from sighing. "Oh, he knows."

* * *

_A/N: I would like to thank swedenluvbones for reviewing this chapter back when I first wrote it, and also to thank all of you who have reviewed it since. Your reviews put a smile on my face, even now that the story is done. If anyone else reading feels inclined to review, it would make me smile._

_Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue on! :)_

_- Beeezie_


	4. Plausible Deniability

Plausible Deniability

An hour and a half later saw Rose and the rest of the fifth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws staggering out of greenhouse five. Professor Longbottom had handed back their first homework during class, and to Rose's relief, she'd gotten an E on it. She wasn't as optimistic about the homework she'd handed in, but there wasn't much she could do about it now.

On the bright side, she didn't have a black eye. Yet. On the downside, she was sporting several bites from the fanged geranium, one of which was in a spot on her arm that she knew would make passing the Quaffle more difficult and more painful.

At least Longbottom was used to students swearing in his class. He hadn't batted an eye when she'd cursed loudly at the last bite, though several other students had. Albus saw her looking at the bite on her arm mournfully and said, "That's going to make Quidditch later painful, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"James won't take that as an excuse," he commented.

"Nope." Not that she really thought he should. He was right, they _did _need practice playing in the rain, whatever their Mondays were like. She shook herself, and remembered that with any luck, Malfoy would be showing up to care of magical creatures after encountering whatever prank James and Roxanne decided to pull.

That cheered her up significantly. Teach him to call her a coward.

She turned to Albus. "So, how did you do on the homework?"

"An A. That's pretty good, right? For the first homework?"

"Yeah, definitely!" She related what Marion had told her over lunch to him, and he looked a little more cheerful.

"Well, that's all right, then." As they headed down the hill to Hagrid's, he asked, "What do you think we'll be doing today?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe bowtruckles or crups?"

They arrived at Hagrid's a few minutes early, and waved to him.

"All right, there?" he asked.

"I'm great," said Albus, "but Rosie's got Quidditch practice tonight."

"Looks like it's goin' ter rain," said Hagrid, surveying the sky. "Yeh'll have a time seeing anythin' in that."

"That's the point," said Rose and Albus together.

Albus looked around. A few sixth-years were still packing up and chatting, clearly not concerned with getting anywhere fast. Rose could not wait until she had that many free periods. "James and Roxanne leave already?"

Hagrid nodded. "They lef' a little early, as a matter o' fact. Somethin' about Quidditch."

Albus looked at Rose. She shrugged. "He wanted to get the pitch reserved because anyone else could get to it, now that he's got a better grasp on the weather conditions this week. Thanks for letting them go do it, Hagrid."

He laughed. "It was nothin'. Gryffindor goin' ter win again this year?"

"Of course," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "James isn't worried about that. He's worried about setting records so that nobody ever forgets us."

Albus and Hagrid both laughed. She felt a slight twinge of guilt for lying to them, but it was better for everyone that they not know exactly why James and Roxanne had left early.

Al looked past her, and his eyes widened. "Scorpius?"

She turned around, and let out a loud giggle before she could help herself. True to their word, James and Roxanne had taken it on themselves to turn his hair bright red.

Rose was not going to breathe another word of complaint about whenever James scheduled practice for the rest of the week.

Malfoy was looking distinctly disgruntled. "Yeah. I know."

Albus just shook his head. "What _happened? When_ did that happen?_"_

"Well, I didn't do it to myself. I was leaving charms with Noah, and suddenly he started laughing." He looked at Rose. "Do _you_ have any idea what happened, _Red?"_

She shook her head, still giggling. Albus gave her a sharp look, and then walked over and began peering at his friend's hair.

Rose really wished she had a camera with her.

Al yanked on it. Scorpius jumped back. "Ow! It _is_ still _my_ hair, damnit!"

Albus frowned. "Sorry. Somebody must have jinxed you."

"No, really?" he snapped. "I can't think of _anyone_ who'd want to do _that."_

Albus shot another glance at Rose, who couldn't seem stop herself from giggling. She shook her head. "It wasn't me, honest," she protested.

Al sighed. "No, it wasn't, not if it was after charms this morning." He shook his head. "Well, I'm sure it'll fade out… er… eventually."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Great. Until then, I can walk around looking a long lost Weasley cousin."

"Hey, _our_ hair is much nicer than that," said Rose. "_You_ look like you've had a bad dye job."

He shot her a withering glance and stalked off. Albus followed him, giving her a suspicious look.

"Well, I guess that's why my brother was asking me what I had first, huh?" murmured a voice at her side.

"Hi, Natalia! Don't you think it's a lovely day?"

Natalia just looked at her. "Really, Rose?"

"Hey, it wasn't me." Rose held up her hand. "I swear. I was in Herbology, and then I was here. Ask Al."

Natalia shook her head and laughed. "So you've got an alibi and everything. What a coincidence."

Rose smirked. "Ask me no secrets, I'll tell you no lies, Talia."

She shook her head, but she was unable to stop the grin from spreading across her face. "He's not _that_ bad, you know."

"If you say so," Rose replied, shrugging. "But that's neither here nor there, because I didn't do it."

"Didn't do what?" asked Colleen. She and her brother Daniel were walking toward them. She stopped short. "Oh, my-"

Alex Finnigan, who was just behind them, saw Malfoy's hair and let out a loud snort. He hurried over to Rose and Natalia. "Did _you_ do that?"

"I was just saying that I didn't!" she said. "He just told Al it happened on the way here from Charms, and I've been in Herbology with you and I came straight here, you know I did."

He gave her a look of deepest skepticism, and Colleen asked, as she and Daniel moved toward them, "So you have no idea who did it?"

"None at all," Rose lied. Hagrid called the class to order and she turned around.

"Liar," whispered Talia, quietly enough so that no one else could hear it.

"Maybe a little," she whispered back. As she turned her attention back to Hagrid, she saw Malfoy, his hair flaming red, staring at her with his eyes narrowed.

She gave him an innocent smile and looking away, fighting the urge to giggle. She had no idea how she was going to pay attention in history of magic later.

After the lesson, which had ended up being about bowtruckles, she made a show of packing her bag and waved her friends ahead. "I'll catch up with you," she called.  
Talia stood next to her until she straightened and slung her bag unto her shoulder, and they both waved goodbye to Hagrid.

"Tell me the truth," Talia said, fixing her with a look. "I know you all too well for that."

Rose smiled. "Okay, yeah, it was James and Roxanne."

Talia laughed. "But you all have plausible deniability?"

"Yup."

Talia put her arm through Rose's. "I won't betray your secret." They walked arm in arm for a moment, and she asked, "Any reason why?"

"He was a jerk last night when I was in the library with him and Albus." She shook her head. "He called me a coward and said that I was a conceited snob." She paused, and then added, "And he kept calling me 'Red.' And 'Cherry.'"

Talia made a face. "You're kidding me."

"Nope."

"Prick."

This was exactly why Rose liked Natalia so much. They could always count on each other for backup. "Come on, let's get some lunch."

* * *

_A/N: I'd like to thank Marciabarcia for reviewing this when I first put it up and was struggling for reviews because my summary was absolutely horrendous._

_This was one of my favorite chapters to write, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, I would appreciate any input you, my lovely readers, might have, and most importantly, thank you for reading. :)_

_ - Beeezie_


	5. Eavesdropping

Eavesdropping

Rose was on her way to Ancient Runes later that day when she heard someone talking in a very agitated way. She peered around the corner, and saw Malfoy and Albus walking toward her. She hurried past the roped off section of swamp in the corridor and ducked behind a portrait to the secret passage concealed by it, crossing her fingers that they'd stop near it.

They did. Her grandmother had always said that eavesdroppers never heard anything they wanted to hear, but she didn't care _what_ she heard, so surely that wouldn't hold true. She was dying of curiosity.

"Look, I _know_ you said she was with you the whole morning," Malfoy was saying, "but seriously, do you _really_ believe that she didn't have anything to do with it?"

Al sighed. "Honestly? No. I don't really believe that. But she _was_ with me, so unless someone admits it, she has what she loves to call 'plausible deniability.' And you don't _know_ that it was her."

"Oh, please," Malfoy said disgustedly. "Someone jinxes my hair _red_ less than twenty-four hours after I start calling her 'Red'?"

"Yeah, why was that again?" Al asked, his voice taking on a bit of an edge.

Malfoy clearly saw that he was entering dangerous waters, because he took a minute to answer. "Well, she calls me 'Malfoy' all the time, and I can't just call her Weasley. There are half a dozen Weasleys at this school."

"So you just decided on 'Red'?" Albus sounded somewhat mollified.

Malfoy hesitated for a second, and then said, "Yep."

"You really don't like her, do you?"

"Not at all," Malfoy admitted, after a moment. "Sorry."

"Why? She's my favourite cousin—not that that's a reason for _you_ to like her, but she's a very nice person, really."

There was a moment of silence, and Malfoy said, "Look. You're one of my best friends. I don't want to offend you."

"But?"

"But, well…" he paused again. "Look, some of your family is perfectly nice, but…"

"What?" Rose could hear Albus slide his bag down onto the floor. "Just spit it out. There's no one around."

Malfoy sighed. "Look, it's just… honestly? You and maybe her brother and Lily excepted, all the Weasleys who have ended up in Gryffindor have been arrogant, self-satisfied prats."

"I know it looks that way, but—"

Malfoy cut him off. "Do you want me to finish?"

Al sighed. "Go ahead. Am I allowed to disagree afterward?"

"Sure." Malfoy sighed again, started to say something, paused, and started again. Rose could practically feel the awkwardness of the situation oozing through the portrait. "Shit, Al. I know they're family, I know you have to love them, but your brother? Roxanne? Red? They all strut around this school like they own it, along with Thomas and Jordan. Maybe your sister and her friend, the other chaser, just haven't caught it yet, but the rest of your Quidditch team seems to think that being smart and good at sports makes them God's gift to the school. To the world."

"Rose isn't really part of that group," Albus said slowly. Rose rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure who he thought he was fooling with that. Of course she was. "She's on the team with them and all, sure, but…"

"Oh, don't give me that," snapped Malfoy. "She might be one of your best friends, but she spends a lot of time with them, too. Are you really telling me that she _doesn't?"_

Al sighed. "No, I'm not."

"Who's her favorite cousin, apart for you?"

Albus sighed again. "James," he admitted.

"It's _not_ just Quidditch. She seems to be with them whenever you're off with your friends who she doesn't approve of, which is everyone who's not in Gryffindor—"

Rose scowled as Albus interrupted. "That's not really fair. She has Hufflepuffs she's close to, too."

Rose could practically hear Malfoy rolling his eyes. "Yeah. I'd noticed. I saw her sitting with your brother and the rest at breakfast, I saw Jordan get up to talk to his sister in Hufflepuff, I saw him rejoin them, and two hours later I left charms with the Hufflepuffs and mysteriously ended up with red hair."

Rose winced. Why on earth had he been watching that closely?

Albus sighed. "Go on."

"Look. I don't like the five of them. I just don't. They're all great Quidditch players. Okay, we get that. They've been on the team for years. In that time, we've all kind of _noticed_ that they're good players. If we hadn't, their holding onto the cup for that long _might_ have tipped us off." Malfoy was clearly getting agitated. "That doesn't mean they have to swagger all over the school like they own it."

He must have looked at Albus, because Al said, in a very tired voice, "Keep going."

"They're all…" he made a disgusted noise. "Well, for all the pranks they pull, and despite all the Quidditch practices they have, they're all _still_ at the top of their classes, and none of them have easy courseloads. How many N.E.W.T.s are they each taking? Six? Seven?"

"Rose isn't taking any, yet," Albus said. Rose felt that as a defense, this was lacking.

"Yeah, well, she'll get all O's on her O.W.L.s, and next year she'll be doing the same thing." She could hear Malfoy slide down against the wall, and heard Albus sit next to him. She looked at her watch. Class started in a few minutes, and there was no way she was going to make it on time unless she left right now.

She didn't move. This was far too interesting.

"I don't know," she heard Malfoy say. "I don't like any of them. Maybe the fact that I actually have to see her more often and deal with her beating me in every subject makes me like her even less. She's a bitch regardless, though." Albus didn't say anything. She was starting to get distinctly annoyed with his lack of defense when she heard Malfoy say, "You can stop shutting up, now," in a wry tone of voice.

"Are you sure that's it?" Al asked.

Malfoy sighed again, and she could hear him shift a little. "No. I'm sure that's not it. It's just harder to put the rest of it into words."

"You think she's hot, don't you." Despite the wording, Rose could tell it wasn't really a question. She winced. Awkward situations like this made her feel embarrassed even if she was just observing them.

There was another pause, and Malfoy said, "Was it that obvious?"

"This summer? A bit, yes."

Rose felt her face getting warm. When her mother and father had gone to Brazil that summer, they'd left her and her brother with the Potters. James had been gone for most of the time she was there, so it was a relatively subdued stay, and she'd had a perfectly good time even with Malfoy visiting at the same time. Mostly, she'd just ignored him. She had assumed he was likewise ignoring her, but apparently, that had not been the case. She almost wanted to escape to class, whatever she would be missing. She hated this level of awkward, and had not really expected the conversation to take this turn.

"Why didn't you say something?" Malfoy asked, sounding a little irritated.

Albus laughed. "Say what? 'Hey, Scorpius, I thought you hated Rose, but now you can't seem to concentrate on a word I say because you're too busy staring at her.' Would you have even admitted it?"

"Probably not," Malfoy admitted. "I wasn't _that_ bad. Was I?" he asked uncertainly.

"No, you weren't," Albus assured him. "I thought I was imagining it for the first few days."

"What convinced you that you weren't?" Malfoy asked curiously.

"I kept having to repeat myself." Rose could tell that her cousin was barely containing his laughter.

"Sorry." To her surprise, Malfoy did actually sound sorry. She supposed she shouldn't be; he was a git, but at least as far as she'd observed, he wasn't a bad friend. Albus certainly seemed to like him, for reasons Rose was sure she would never understand.

"It was a little irritating," Albus said after a moment. "But I figured it was probably much worse for you than it was for me."

Malfoy groaned. "Yes. Yes it was. I don't have _any_ desire to be with her, you know," he said. "She opens her mouth and I want to punch her."

"Please don't," said Albus. "She _is_ my favourite cousin. I'd have to punch you back."

"Honestly, that worries me less than what _she'd_ do." Despite the discomfort she was feeling from the rest of the conversation, Rose found herself smirking.

"With good reason. Can I say what I'm thinking now?" Al asked. Malfoy must have nodded, because he continued. "Look. I'm not touching any of your issues with Rose with a ten foot pole."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Malfoy snapped. "I don't _have_—"

"Oh, shut up," Albus said tiredly. "Yes, you do. I don't know why, but yes, you do." Rose was expecting Malfoy to fight back, and was rather surprised when he didn't say anything and let Albus continue. "Look, I'm not saying that what you're saying about them isn't true. I just think that you're seeing them in the worst possible light. I don't know Marion or Tyler all that well, but I _do_ know my brother. He can be arrogant, yes, but he's also really a fundamentally _good_ person. Mostly, he's just fooling around. Roxanne's kind of the same way. I don't think either of them takes very much very seriously."

He paused, and Malfoy prompted him. "And Rose?"

Albus sighed. "Rosie is… look, honestly? She _is_ a good person. She can be pretty judgmental, and she's got a bit of a temper, and she can be a little arrogant and, okay, even vindictive sometimes, but she really is a fun person to be around." Rose was just starting to feel rather irritated at this lackluster defense when Albus added, "She's one of my favorite people in the world."

Her irritation vanished, and she was possessed with the sudden urge to hug her cousin.

"I'll take your word for it," Malfoy said skeptically, and she could hear him get up. He laughed. "It's probably better for us all if I _don't_ see that side of her. If it even exists."

Albus got up, too. "Yeah, well. I'm so tempted to skive off Divination, we're going to be late, anyway."

"Why did we take this stupid subject, again?" Malfoy asked, and she could hear them walking away. "We should go, though."

Albus gave a very unenthusiastic, "I guess," and their voices faded away.

Rose groaned. If they were going to be late, she definitely was. She ran to class, murmuring an apology when she walked in several minutes late. She pushed the conversation she'd heard out of her mind; she needed to concentrate on class.

She'd nearly forgotten it by the time she entered history of magic almost two hours later, but seeing Malfoy with his bright red hair and Albus sitting in the back of the room playing hangman brought it back. She could feel her ears go red.

Malfoy looked up, and called, "Hey, Red! When's our next family reunion?"

Several people laughed. Rose gave him a withering glare, and sat down in the front row. She could feel her face getting red. Malfoy saying 'Was it that obvious?' ran through her head again, and she was very glad that class was starting and that Professor Binns was clearly too detached from the world to notice.

Very soon, _she_ was too detached to feel much of anything. Nothing could make this class anything but dull, and especially when she had it at the end of the day like this, Binns had a talent for making her want to go to sleep. Today even goblin rebellions seemed dull, and she could usually manage to pay some attention to them. Rose made a mental note to ask Lucy for her notes.

When class had finally ended, she waited for Albus at the door. "I should get some work done before dinner. Keep me company?"

Albus looked at Malfoy. "We were actually headed for the library now," he said, hesitantly. "You're welcome to join us, though."

Malfoy forced a smile onto his face. "Any friend of Al's is… someone I will do my best to tolerate."

Rose stared at him for a moment, and then laughed. He looked a little taken aback. "Sure, Al, I'd love to."

They passed by the portrait covering the other end of the secret passage she'd been hiding in a few hours before, and she stopped, feeling suddenly very devious.

"What?" asked Al, stopping with her.

"Oh, just a shortcut," she said breezily. "Haven't you ever used it? It's very convenient. Fred found it his third week here, and she showed it to James and Roxanne, and they showed it to me. Were you not there?"

Albus shook his head, and he and Malfoy looked at each other and shrugged. "Lead the way," Malfoy said.

She was glad for the bad lighting; it gave her a chance to compose herself before they exited through the second portrait.

Rose pushed it aside and walked out into the corridor. She saw Albus and Malfoy look around, and then look at each other. Malfoy's face looked even paler than usual—or maybe that was just the hair.

She looked at them, smiling in what she hoped was a carefree manner. "See? It's really useful, isn't it?"

Malfoy's eyes flicked to Albus, and then back to her. "Yeah, it is. You use it a lot?"

"Oh, all the time," she said, cheerfully. "I was running late to ancient runes today, actually, and it saved me."

Malfoy's face definitely looked paler, and Albus was beginning to look uncomfortable. "Rosie, what are you saying?" he asked carefully.

Rose shrugged. "Nothing. Just that it's a useful passage." She frowned. "Why? What did you think I was saying?"

Albus shook his head. "Nothing."

She smiled, and turned toward the library, flipping her hair back. After a moment, they both followed her. She felt very pleased with her acting abilities just then.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks again to swedenluvbones for reviewing when my experience as a fanfic author was still very limited._

_I hope you're continuing to enjoy this, and thank you so much for reading._

_ - Beeezie_


	6. Threats of Retaliation

Threats of Retaliation

Rose had left Al and Malfoy sitting at the table to raid the bookshelves for something that would help her with the potions assignment. She had just pulled a book off the shelf when she heard a very dry voice above her say "Very subtle, Red."

She looked up at Malfoy, who was leaning against a bookshelf. His face was inscrutable.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't even try it," he said. "You showed your hand."

Rose managed to keep a straight face, though with difficulty. "I don't know what you're going on about." She looked back at her book.

"Neither of us ever would have known if you hadn't felt the need to show off." His eyes narrowed slightly. "See, this is _exactly_ what I hate about you."

She rose so quickly that he actually took a step back. "I wasn't showing off!" she whispered furiously.

He gave her a disgusted look. "Right. And you didn't have anything to do with this, either, right?" He gestured at his bright red hair.

"I wasn't!" she protested, ignoring the reference to his hair. There was no way that she was going to admit to that.

Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "Then why did you feel the need to rub your eavesdropping in my face?" he asked skeptically. "I'm curious, really."

Rose had to fight to keep her voice to rising above a whisper. "You're just mad because I heard you talking about me."

"Well, a little," he acknowledged, "but mostly because it happened to me. I can't fault you for listening in." She must have looked confused, because he laughed. Rose was seriously starting to wonder if she hadn't just hallucinated the entire conversation between him and Albus, or else completely misunderstood it. Surely someone couldn't possibly be so unpleasant to someone they were even remotely attracted to. "_I'm_ not obsessed with _honor._ That's your house. If I was in that situation, I'd have stayed and listened to the whole thing. I like to know what people are saying about me." He sneered. "_And_ I wouldn't have blown it by showing off afterwards."

Rose resisted the urge to tell him exactly what she, James, and Roxanne thought of him. "I told you, I wasn't showing off!" she snapped.

"Then why did you do it?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I just wanted to see what would happen. How you'd both react." Rose suspected that a Slytherin would not be able to understand this kind of motivation.

She was right. Malfoy shook his head, looking incredulous. "You're telling me that you led us through that passage because _you wanted to see what would happen?"_

"Yes," she said defensively.

He just stared at her for a moment. "And that's a common motivation for you?" She shrugged. He seemed to take that as a yes, because he said, "This is why so many Gryffindors irritate me. You are completely irrational."

"Then why is one of your best friends a Gryffindor?"

Malfoy shrugged. "Ask the Sorting Hat. I have no idea."

Rose felt that he'd missed the point of her question, but decided that it probably wasn't worth getting into it with him. It wasn't as though the Sorting Hat had just randomly put Albus is Gryffindor. He _belonged_ there. He was a lot humbler than Rose, James, and Roxanne, but while pride might not be his deadly sin, courage was definitely his cardinal virtue.

Malfoy was shaking his head. "'I wanted to see what would happen.' Really?"

"Yeah, well, I'd rather be irrational than conniving like you!" she hissed. She didn't know him well, but she'd spent far more time with him than she would have liked over the last four years in an attempt to appease Albus, and he was definitely conniving.

He shrugged. He clearly did not understand an insult when he heard one. "Mostly I'd call myself cunning, but I guess I can be a little conniving, too. Believe it or not, I'm okay with that. Not all of us like going through our days without thinking about the consequences of any of our actions. Then, not all of us want to be worshipped, either."

"I don't want to be worshipped!" Rose retorted angrily. "I just think that dodging around rather than saying what you really mean is a stupid way of going through life, and I don't want any part of it!"

"Well, Red, I hate to break it to you, but you're still a conceited bitch. You just also apparently lack self-control." He turned toward the bookshelf, and she had the distinct impression that he was doing it so he didn't have to talk to her.

"Bet you wish I had a little less, don't you?"

He looked back at her. She could see a slight flush spreading across his cheeks, and she knew she'd struck a nerve. "Thanks, I'm good," he sneered. "Maybe you missed the part about how I want to punch you every time you open your mouth."

Rose brushed by him, moving closer than she probably had to in what was really a fairly wide aisle. "I'm sure there must be some situation you can think of where my mouth being open would be welcome enough." She didn't look back. She didn't have to, to know that she'd made her impression, and she found with some surprise that she rather enjoyed it.

When he returned to the table several minutes later, she asked very politely, "Did you find that book you were looking for?"

"No, I didn't," he said, equally politely. "Someone must have taken it out."

"Oh, that's unfortunate." Rose looked back at her paper and started writing again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Albus starting at her, but she didn't acknowledge him, and after a moment he looked away.

Malfoy was apparently doing the same thing, because after another moment, Al shook his head and went back to his homework. They worked in silence until a quarter to six. When she caught sight of the clock, Rose stood up. "I should get downstairs and have something to eat before practice."

Al looked up, too. "When does he want you all out there?"

"Half past."

He nodded and glanced at his paper. "Do you want company?"

"Sure," she said.

Albus packed up his books and looked at Malfoy. "You going to eat?"

Malfoy glanced up. "In half an hour. That's when Noah's done with practice. If you want to hang around, I'll be down then."

"Noah?" Rose asked as she snapped her bag shut. It occurred to her that after four years of classes with these people, it really was pathetic that she didn't know more of their first names.

Malfoy clearly agreed. "Slytherin seeker." She opened her mouth, and he added, "Why, do you have something nasty to say about our team, or do you just want to brag about your own?"

"Neither," she answered, calmly. "I was just going to say that Nott's a good seeker." She knew next to nothing about him otherwise; despite his being one of Al's closest friends, she probably bumped into him outside of class about twice a year.

Malfoy looked a little taken aback. "Oh." He glanced back at his paper. "I really should get this done, Al. I'll be down later, if you're up for wait."

Albus nodded. "I'll see you then."

Malfoy nodded. As they turned to walk away, he called, "See you soon, Albus. Don't get too wet at practice, Red."

Albus had clearly not noticed double entendre, but she felt her ears getting hot. She had to admit that she'd probably deserved it, though.

As they left the library, she looked back. Malfoy was watching them. She shook her head. He was such a _strange_ person.

They'd walked past several suits of armor before Albus spoke. "So."

"So," Rose replied.

"_Did_ you have anything to do with Scorpius' new hair colour?" he asked. She didn't say anything, and he sighed. "I promise I won't write home if you did. Or to your parents."

Rose adjusted the strap of her bag so it wasn't pulling on her hair and assumed what she hoped was an expression of complete innocence. "You said it yourself, at Care of Magical Creatures. It couldn't have been me. I was with you all morning."

"Yeah, I know, I know. You got yourself an alibi." He paused. When Rose glanced over at him, he seemed to be considering something. "You know, later today, Scorpius told me that he saw Tyler go over to Natalia during breakfast, and then come back to you lot. What was Tyler talking to her about?"

"No idea," Rose said. "You'd have to ask them."

"Why did James and Roxanne _really_ leave Care of Magical Creatures early?" Albus pressed.

"I already told you," she answered, nonchalantly. "They wanted to book the Quidditch pitch." She did not suggest that he check. Providing an alibi before you were asked just made you look guilty. She'd learned that from Victoire, who had been the master at getting away with major violations of school rules.

"And they _both_ needed to go?"

She shrugged. "I suppose not, but it's always nice to have a second opinion, and you heard Hagrid. He didn't mind."

Albus shook his head. "And I would bet that Marion and Tyler stayed and chatted with Hagrid for a few minutes after class ended, so they have _their_ alibi."

Rose shrugged again. "No idea. You'd have to ask them."

He sighed. "So basically, what you're telling me is that you all have plausible deniability."

"Yep."

"Rose, say you did do it, hypothetically. What would have been your reason?" He sounded so earnest and serious. Rose loved Albus dearly, but sometimes, she wanted to force feed him something that would make him take life a little less seriously.

"Hypothetically?" she asked. He nodded. "Hypothetically, if I had done it, which I didn't, because I was with you all morning, it would have been because he was a jerk last night. He said I shouldn't be in Gryffindor because I was a coward." Albus looked skeptical. "Well, that was a reasonable interpretation of what he said, anyway."

Her cousin looked up at the ceiling. She knew from long experience that if he was praying to anything or anyone, it was not going to be answered. "Great."

"_And_ he kept calling me 'Red.'" She paused for half a second, and then added, "And 'Cherry.'"

He sighed again. "That's just great. I take it he decided on 'Red' in the end?"

"Yep."

"Can you two just _try_ to be nice to each other?" he asked. He sounded exasperated, and Rose supposed she couldn't really blame him. "Or at least _civil?_ You don't seem to manage to have these run-ins with Noah."

"Nott doesn't go out of his way to bother me, so I don't bother him." She twisted her neck from side to side, trying to work out the kinks she'd gotten from leaning over a table without moving for as long as she had. "And I _am_ trying. That was a hypothetical."

"Right," he said, in a very tired voice. "And you have an alibi, and your teammates have plausible deniability."

"Yep."

He shook his head. "Whatever. Just… _try,_ Rose. He really _is_ a nice guy to be around." She started to talk, and he cut her off, wearily. "Yes, I know he's a Slytherin. The two are not mutually exclusive, you know. Noah's a nice guy, too. I _like_ spending time with them."

"Go lecture him, not me," she said as they rounded the corner and emerged at the top of a staircase. "_He's_ always picking fights with _me_. I'd be happier to just ignore him, I don't know what his problem is." However, she did think that she was beginning to understand his problem a little better than she had a few days ago.

Albus looked up at the ceiling despairingly again. Rose didn't understand why he persisted in wanting her to get along with Malfoy; the amount of time he spent looking up at the ceiling or at the sky as if beseeching some god to intervene and make his life a bit easier seemed to serve only to greatly increase the likelihood that he would fall flat on his face. "Rose, do you really not see how sometimes, you give him _reason_ for it?" When he looked at her and she stared at him blankly, he groaned. "Really?"

"He gives _me_ reason for it, too," she pointed out. "Did I tell you what he pulled on the train this year?"

"No, but I suspect you're about to," Albus said, beginning to look absolutely exhausted.

"All I did was ask him to give you a simple message." Remembering the incident, Rose could feel herself getting irritated with Malfoy all over again. "He started calling me names."

"What message?"

"I wanted my charms book back. James and Roxanne wanted to experiment with it."

Albus chose not to comment on the fact that they were not technically supposed to be doing magic on the Hogwarts Express, and that as a prefect, Rose probably should not have been enabling or actively participating in it. "But I got that message," he said, looking confused.

"From who?" Rose challenged.

He screwed up his face. "I think it was Noah," he said after a moment of consideration. "Yeah, it was Noah."

Rose scowled. "Yes, because Nott isn't a git. He doesn't like me, I don't like him—"

"You don't _know_ him," Albus said, sounding very exasperated. "How can you not like someone you don't even know?"

"That's not the point," she told him. "The point is, we manage to coexist just fine. We are perfectly cordial when we have to patrol. Once I even complimented his choice of book." As they turned to go through the tapestry again, Rose shifted her bag from one shoulder to the other before beginning to descend the stairs. "Come to think of it, can't you just ditch Malfoy and spend all your time with Nott?"

Even in the fairly dim light, she could tell Albus was rolling his eyes. "It's not an either/or situation._ Unlike_ you and Scorpius," he added pointedly.

"He's the one who starts it."

Albus snorted. "Even if I bought that, which I don't, you still overreact. Whatever he called you last night, did you _really_ have to turn his hair bright red?" He cut her off when she tried to object. "Wait, I'm sorry, I forgot, you had nothing to do with it, because you were with me all morning."

"Exactly," Rose said as she pushed aside the tapestry that hung at the bottom of the staircase.

"I was just hoping it would be different this year," Albus said after a moment. "You know, after the summer."

This time it was Rose who tripped over her own feet when she stopped to stare at him. _"What?"_ She honestly wasn't sure she'd heard him right. _"Why?"_

He looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, you didn't seem to hate each other as much as usual when you were both staying with me over the summer. I mean, mostly you just ignored each other, which was an improvement." She wasn't sure how he interpreted the fact that Malfoy was so busy staring at her that he wasn't processing what his friend was saying as "ignoring," but challenging him would involve admitting that she'd eavesdropped. She was definitely not going to do that. Albus would be horribly _disappointed _in her.

"Al," she said patiently, "my parents were on _vacation._ I was pretty much stuck at your place, and James wasn't even there. I wanted to relax, not argue with Malfoy and then argue with you about arguing with Malfoy."

"Oh," Albus said after a moment. He appeared to be rather disappointed that his optimism had been so far off the mark. "I was just hoping it meant you'd both finally grown up a little."

Rose felt that this was extremely unfair. "Thanks." Her voice came out sounding even more sarcastic than she'd meant it to, and he sighed.

"Why can't you just _try?"_ he asked again.

"Why can't you give up on wanting me to?" Rose shot back. "Just because they're your friends doesn't mean they need to be mine. _You_ don't like Julian," she pointed out, referring to a Gryffindor in the year above them who she'd briefly dated the year before and had remained fairly good friends with.

He pursed his lips together. "I am perfectly civil to Julian," he said coolly. "He probably doesn't even know that I dislike him."

"Of course he knows." Rose rolled her eyes. "You're civil, not friendly, and you're always friendly to everyone."

"Yeah, well, at least I try," he snapped. "You don't. You just jinx my friends."

"Fine." She suspected that she would regret agreeing to this, but arguing the point further just felt like kicking him when he was down. She knew that he couldn't be happy about Malfoy's revelation, no matter how much he'd been expecting it. "I'll try harder. _If_ you give me my plausible deniability."

Albus groaned. "Fine. I won't challenge your plausible deniability unless something _really_ ridiculous happens."

"Good."

"I won't challenge his, either."

She looked at him sharply. "What do you mean? What is he planning?"

"Nothing that I know of. But if I were him, and I knew who'd done it, alibi or no, I'd be planning some payback." He glanced at her, amused. "What, did you think that plausible deniability would be enough for _him?"_

Rose shrugged. "Whatever, I can take him," she said casually. "Hey, can I borrow Hazel tonight? Godric's out taking a letter to Dominique."

He looked a little taken aback by the change of subject. "Sure. I don't mind."

"Thanks." They walked into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table with Colleen, Alex, and Damien. When James tapped her on the shoulder at twenty past six, she got up and they left for the Quidditch pitch. Rose made very, very sure that she was surrounded by teammates the entire way there.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to Marciabarcia for reviewing this chapter way back when._

_I hope that you're continuing to enjoy this, and I'd appreciate any reviews. :)_

_ - Beeezie_


	7. Trick Sweets

Trick Sweets

When the team trooped back up to the castle after practice, they were all both soaked and exhausted. Most people who didn't play Quidditch didn't really understand how tiring it was to play in bad weather.

"So," James said cheerfully as they sloshed through the mud, "Did you like it?"

Rose grinned despite her exhaustion. "It was amazing. He wasn't happy."

"No," Roxanne replied, sounding very pleased with herself. "No, we didn't think he would be."

"He knows it was me, though," Rose told them. "Al thinks he's going to want payback."

"Well, if he's going to try and go after you, he's got another thing coming—" James started, but Rose shook her head.

"I have a better solution. Can I have the cloak when we get back up to school?"

James and Roxanne both looked at her, confused. "Sure," he said, "But why do you want it?"

"I want to send an owl tonight, so the reply can come with the morning post."

Roxanne looked at her. They were close enough that Rose could see her face clear after a moment and she clapped, gleefully. "You're sending it to Fred?"

James looked from her to Rose, clearly perplexed, and then he seemed to get the joke, too. "That's perfect. That'll wipe the smirk off his face when he tries to jinx you."

"I thought so, too," Rose said, pleased.

"We should get that Herbology homework done," James remarked as they entered the castle.

"We should," agreed Roxanne. "And I need a bath."

Rose sighed. "I should get some work done, too. I've got the free time tomorrow, but I have a lot of work due Wednesday, _and_ I have to patrol." She scowled. "Why did they make me prefect, anyway?"

Roxanne put an arm around her shoulder, and James ruffled her hair. "You'll be fine," they said, together.

Rose grinned despite herself. "Thanks."

"Though really, I have no idea why they chose you," James added. "I was expecting Colleen."

Once they'd gotten to James went upstairs to get dry clothing to change into after his bath, and covertly handed her the invisibility cloak as he passed the staircase to the girl's dormitories. She went up to her room to do the same, and Roxanne, on her way back downstairs, handed her a peace of folded paper and murmured "You're one of us, of course you're up to no good."

After her bath, clad in warm and wonderfully dry clothing, she sat down at a table in the common room to write her note.

_Fred,_

_How are you? We're all looking forward to the first Hogsmeade weekend—Al keeps complaining about Divination and wishing he had some snackboxes, so don't be shocked if he comes in wanting about twenty. I don't know why he signed up for that stupid subject._

_Without getting into unnecessary details, I have reason to believe that someone might be planning to jinx me. I don't remember what you guys have shield charms in these days, but can you send me something I can wear inside the castle without making anyone too suspicious?_

_Miss you,_

_Rose_

_P.S. I just got back from practice. James kept us at it for two hours in this rain. We're all soaked. The caretaker would have had our heads if he'd caught us._

Rose folded the paper, put it in an envelope, and got up.

She saw Albus sitting on a chair near the fire, potions book open on his lap as he scratched out an essay on a piece of parchment. "Need any help?" she asked.

He looked up. "Not with this, but can you help me practice for Transfiguration later?"

"Sure."

He smiled. "Thanks. Look, I'm sorry if I was too hard on you earlier."

She shook her head. "It's fine, really. I'm off to mail that letter."

He looked at the clock. "Better hurry. You don't want to be caught after hours."

"I won't be."

He grinned. "Of course not. What was I thinking? Don't give it back to James when you get back. I'm going to be up half the night, and I might want a snack later."

She smiled back. "No problem."

"Who is it to, anyway?" he asked, peering at the envelope.

She moved her fingers so she wasn't blocking the name. "Fred. Asking him about the first Hogsmeade weekend and telling him what I think is going to be in hottest demand."

Albus laughed. "Excellent. Hey, tell him to stock up on snackboxes. I'm tired of suffering through Divination."

She smirked. "You shouldn't have taken it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Too late now, though."

"I'll be back in a bit." Rose climbed out of the portrait hole. She immediately swung the cloak over her, and pulled out the old, folded piece of paper. She looked up and down the hallway, and then held her wand out and whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

She checked the map for teachers, and then set off toward the owlery, glancing at it occasionally to make sure the way was still clear.

It was difficult to get caught with the invisibility cloak, but not impossible, and it paid to be careful. She knew for a fact that both Professor McGonagall and Professor Longbottom knew about its existence, and wouldn't be so quick to dismiss an out-of-place noise as their imagination or something innocent.

Today, however, McGonagall was in the Headmistress' study, and Longbottom was nowhere to be seen.

As she neared the owlery, she looked over the map one more time, saw no one nearby, and pulled off the cloak as she entered it. "Hazel!" she called, quietly.

A barn owl glided down to her, and she pulled an owl treat out of her pocket. Hazel ate it happily, and Rose stroked her head for a few minutes. Then she pulled the letter out of her bag. "Hazel, can you take this to Fred for me, please?" Hazel stuck out her leg, and Rose tied the letter on. "Thank you!" she called, and Hazel flew out of the window.

She checked the map again, pulled on the invisibility cloak, and made her way back to the Gryffindor common room.

Rose stuck to Albus like a bur on the way down to breakfast the next morning, and when the two sat down with James and Roxanne, Rose made very sure that her back was to the wall.

Albus was clearly amused by her nervousness. "Maybe it _would_ be good for you to get a taste of your own medicine."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, reaching for one of the platters loaded with what looked like pancakes with some kind of berry in them. "Do you know what he's talking about?" she asked her cousins.

"Nope," answered James.

"Haven't the foggiest," said Roxanne.

"Whatever," Albus said, serving himself some sausages. "As I said to Rose last night, I'm not going to challenge anyone's _plausible deniability_." He said the phrase with what Rose felt was entirely too much distaste. There was nothing wrong with plausible deniability. "I've decided to take the approach of just sitting back and laughing while you two jinx each other into oblivion, as long as it's not in my presence. It's easier than wishing you would get along."

Rose shook her head. "I still don't see what Malfoy's on about, I was with you all morning yesterday."

"Yes, well, unfortunately, he's under the impression that you have cousins who would be happy to stand in for you while you're off having an alibi," Albus said dryly.

Roxanne and James looked at each other.

"Do you think he's talking about us?" she asked.

"Couldn't be," James said. "We never break the rules."

Roxanne's expression looked at though she intended it to be innocent but couldn't quite bring herself to fake it. "And besides, we were booking the pitch yesterday morning."

"And both of you were needed?" Albus asked.

James shrugged. "I wanted a second opinion. I can't make that sort of life-or-death decision on my own."

"Right."

James's face took on an expression of deepest hurt. "Is my little brother accusing me of being a liar?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes he is." Albus speared a piece of sausage and popped it in his mouth.

"Tsk, tsk," Roxanne said, looking very disappointed. "Family should stick together, Albie."

He swallowed and was opening his mouth to respond when the morning post began to flood in. They all looked up. Rose saw Hazel gliding toward them. She was carrying a package with two other owls. They swooped low and dropped it in front of Rose. The other owls made their exits, and Hazel landed in front of Al, who gave her an owl treat.

"That's _all_ from my brother?" Roxanne asked, looking surprised.

"Apparently." Rose took the envelope attached to the package and opened it.

_Rose,_

_Hope your first week back went well. Good to hear that you've already gotten into some sort of trouble. I was afraid your prefect badge would stop you from having any fun. I'll want to hear more about it your first Hogsmeade weekend. (Or before.)_

_Dad's actually developed a new line of shield charms that will be hitting the shelves in October. There have been a lot of requests for something unobtrusive. I included one for each of you._

_I also tossed in a few things in the package that should make your week a little brighter. Share them around with Rox and James and the rest. Make sure to give Al some of the snackboxes._

_All my best,_

_Fred_

_P.S. The practice is good for you. Tell James I approve._

She smirked, pocketed the note, and began to open the package.

James leaned over and called down the table, "Lily! Hugo! Get down here!" They obeyed with alacrity, and some second years scooted down to make room for them. "Someone go get Louis and Lucy, too," he said, looking as though his birthday had come early. Rose supposed that given the sort of things Fred was likely to send them, it practically had.

"No need," said a voice from behind him. Rose looked up and saw the two seventh-years approaching them. "We were curious," Louis explained as he took a seat between James and Hugo. "What's the package? Who's it from?"

"Fred," Rose told him.

Lucy took advantage of the empty space next to Roxanne and slid onto the bench. "Oh, dear. This is going to interfere with my prefect sensibilities horribly, isn't it?" she asked cheerfully.

Rose handed her a jewelry box. "This is for you, apparently." After Lucy took it, she tossed another one to Roxanne and a third to Lily. She opened the fourth to find a pendant cradling a bright red stone.

"Oh, it's pretty!" cried Roxanne, who had just opened her box to find a similar necklace.

Rose looked at Lily and Lucy. Lily was fastening a third necklace around her neck, and Lucy was slipping a bracelet on. Rose peered closer at the bracelet. "Hey, Luce, yours is yellow."

Lucy looked up. "I noticed. Yours isn't?"

"No, we all got red," Lily told her. "See?"

"That's clever," Lucy commented. "House colors." She examined the bracelet on her wrist, frowning. "While I appreciate it, why is Fred sending us jewelry?"

"It's a new product from the shop," Rose told her. "Shield charms."

"Why don't we get shield charms?" Hugo asked, looking extremely put out.

James had taken another box from the package and opened it. "Apparently we do," he said, pulling out a hemp bracelet and slipping it on.

Hugo's face lit up. "Cool!" He opened the box that Rose had just given him and pulled out a bracelet similar to the one James was wearing.

"It is, actually," Albus said, putting his box aside and examining a necklace that resembled the bracelets.

Louis replaced his earring with the one Fred had sent. "Not that I think I'm in any danger of being jinxed," he said, grinning. "What else is in there?"

James leaned over to look inside. A broad grin spread across his face, and he reached in and pulled out a box of fireworks. He tossed them to Roxanne, who looked as though there was nothing at that moment that she wanted more than to set them off.

Rose returned her attention to the package. "Oh, wow!" She pulled out an enormous box of skiving snackboxes.

Lucy eyed the brightly-colored box warily. "Don't let me catch any of you skipping classes."

"Would you really put us in detention?" Hugo asked incredulously as Rose opened the box.

"No," she told him as Rose turned the box upside down and emptied the snackboxes onto the table. "But I'd feel a little guilty for not doing it." Lucy picked up a few of the brightly wrapped candies to examine them. "They've branched out since last time I was there," she commented, looking impressed. Rose recognized the wrappers as being 'convulsion cherries' and 'seizure syrups.' She hesitated, and then asked tentatively, "Can I take a few?"

Hugo, Albus, and James all stopped picking out their favorites and gaped at her. Roxanne and Lily looked equally surprised, and Rose was sure a similar expression was on her face.

"Go ahead," Rose managed to reply after a few moments. Lucy picked out several Sneezing Strawberries and Raspberry Rashes and slipped them into her pocket. By the time Rose had recovered from the surprise enough to turn back to the pile, the only things left were Vertigo Vanillas, Cocoa Chills, and Tearing Truffles. "Come on, really?" she said, feeling thoroughly irritated. "I'm the reason he sent all of this in the first place!"

James groaned. "Fine," he said, tossing her a few. After a moment, Lily and Hugo offered up a couple Bruising Blueberries, and Albus gave her a Nosebleed Nougat.

Rose turned back to the box. There was another box full of trick sweets. Rose, Albus, Lucy, and Louis did not find this to be particularly exciting, but James, Roxanne, Lily, and Hugo divided up the Babbling Butterscotch, Sleeplessness Sugars, Pelican Peppermints, Gibbering Gumdrops, Hiccuping Honeys, and Canary Creams with what Rose felt was almost indecent enthusiasm.

Inside the box were also several love potions, two of which Lily snatched and would not give up until both Lucy and Rose threatened her with detention and James told her that he would write to their parents. Rose personally doubted that he would have done anything of the sort, but Lily seemed to think that it wasn't worth risking it.

"Why do you want love potions, anyway, Lily?" Lucy asked, once Lily had handed them over. "You're a third-year."

"I wanted to give them to people and watch them act ridiculous."

"Just as well they stopped you," Louis said offhandedly as he poured himself a glass of water.

"Why?" Lily demanded after it became clear that he wasn't going to elaborate.

"The last people who did ended up with about ten detentions," he told her.

"Who were they?" Lily seemed to have forgotten she was pouting.

"Fred and Victoire, of course." Louis took a sip of water. Lily waited expectantly, but he didn't say anything else.

"Victoire actually got caught?" He nodded, and Lily looked surprised. Victoire had broken most of the school rules in her time at Hogwarts, but she'd only very rarely been caught at it.

"How many house points got taken?" Hugo asked eagerly.

"I think it was 100 each, right?" Louis directed the question at Lucy, who cocked her head to the side.

"Yes," she said slowly. "I think so."

"_And_ ten detentions?" Hugo looked deeply impressed, and Rose made a mental note to have a talk with him later about not trying to outdo that.

"The Heads didn't seem to feel that taking points was much of a punishment," Lucy said wryly.

"Why not?" Lily looked exchanged a look with Hugo, and Rose barely managed to hold back a groan.

"Well," Louis said slowly, "taking points is only a deterrent when it's putting one House behind the others. If all the Houses lose points, you're basically back to where you started."

Albus choked on his water. "Who'd they get to help them from Hufflepuff and Slytherin?" he asked after he was finished coughing.

"Lexy from Hufflepuff, and Gallagher Dedworth from Slytherin," Louis said. "I don't know if you'd remember Gallagher."

Roxanne looked wistful. "James, we haven't done anything that destructive in a long time."

"And you won't plan anything while I'm sitting right here," Lucy told her. "What else is in the box, Rose?" When they'd finished unpacking it, there were a variety of Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes products on the table between them all, including extendable ears, patented daydream charms, trick wands, and decoy detonators. Fred had even thrown in some Honeydukes sweets.

"Here, Hugo," Rose called to her brother. "Have a chocolate frog!"

He caught it. As her was opening it, Louis suddenly grabbed a napkin off the table and spat something into it. As he was lowering his goblet after taking a long drink of water, Rose noticed the open box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"What did you get?" she asked curiously.

He shook his head, his eyes watering. "I thought it was cranberry," he rasped. "It was chili."

"You should be eating bread," Lucy told him sensibly. "Not drinking water." She handed him a roll, and he took it.

Lily took advantage of the distraction to inch her hand toward a daydream charm. Roxanne smacked it away. "_No,_ Lily."

"But—"

James looked over, saw the charm in Roxanne's hand, and looked at his sister. _"No,_ Lily. They're for sixteen and up. You're thirteen."

"Rose is taking one," she replied, annoyed.

James looked at Rose for a moment, clearly confused about why that was relevant. "Oh, I guess you aren't sixteen yet, are you?" He shrugged. "Whatever."

"But—"

"Lily," he said, turning back to her. "Rose will be sixteen in less than a month. You will not be sixteen for three years. Get over it." Lucy and Rose exchanged an amused look; it was very rare to see James and Roxanne defend any rule.

Rose tossed Lily a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and said, "Hey, take a few canary creams and pelican peppermints. It'll sting less when your friends keep turning into birds."

"Hey, James, who did you get?" asked Hugo.

James passed him the card. "I got Kingsley Shacklebolt, but I've already got two of him, do you want it?"

"Yeah!"

"Here," said Roxanne, passing her card over, too. "I've already got an Agrippa."

Hugo beamed. He had gotten really into collecting chocolate frog cards in the last year, and was always excited when someone handed him a new one.

Roxanne looked over at James, who was picking up trick wands. "Oi! Let's get going."

He stuffed a few more things in his bag and they left. Lucy stared after them, frowning.

"Considering putting them in detention after all?" Louis asked her.

She started. "What? No, of course not. I was just wondering _how_ he managed to fit everything in that one bag. It's not very big, and he's got to have books in it for today's classes already."

"You should see him packing up the car when we go on trips," Albus said. "What's that muggle game? Tetrack?"

Rose and Hugo both snorted. "Tetris," Hugo said. "James is good at car tetris."

Lucy smiled. "Well, I'm jealous."

Louis looked more skeptical, but didn't say anything.

Rose opened her bag. "Al, did you want any daydream charms? This one looks like it's more you than me."

He took it. Lily opened her mouth, and he looked at her sharply. "Not one more word." She sighed, and helped herself to several fizzing whizzbees and trick wands.

Rose put the remaining two daydream charms in her bag. "Let's divvy up the rest of it, because we should be getting to class." She grabbed a few more trick sweets before Lily could take the rest, and with difficulty managed to fit them and a handful of chocolate frogs into her bag, which was already bulging with extendable ears, decoy detonators, and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Rose checked the box one more time. It was empty, and someone had even claimed the last of the snackboxes. The only thing left on the table but discarded wrappers.

"We should go," Louis said. "We have an essay for Arithmancy due tomorrow that neither of us has even started." He and Lucy rose and made their way to the door. Rose and Albus followed them after waving goodbye to Hugo and Lily, who were talking animatedly about who they could trick into eating the sweets.

"We could use snackboxes to get out of it," Albus suggested as they walked. "Binns is so boring."

"I thought you were planning to skive off divination," Rose said, frowning. "You really shouldn't do both."

He grimaced. "Fair point."

"Cheer up," she said, patting him on the shoulder as they turned down the corridor that led to their History of Magic classroom. "It's forty minutes. Use the daydream charm or something."

"Fair point," he repeated, looking more cheerful. "Shield charm, huh?" Rose smirked, and to her surprise, he grinned back. "Nice one."

"I thought so." Rose pulled a chocolate frog out of her bag and bit off its head. "Hey," she said, once she'd swallowed. "Look, Al, it's your namesake."

Al leaned over and laughed. "Cool. Keep him, though. Everyone always gives me Dumbledore and Snape when they get them." He touched the necklace he'd fastened around his neck. "This doesn't look girly, does it?"

"No, of course not," Rose assured him as they entered the classroom. "It's hemp. It's hard to make hemp look girly."

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to swedenluvbones for the review on the last chapter all the way back. As always, I will appreciate reviews, and thank you so much for reading! :)_


	8. The Marauder's Map

The Marauder's Map

Albus spotted Malfoy, who still sporting bright red hair, and headed over to join him. Rose followed him, feeling that nothing, not even Malfoy, could ruin her good mood. If she was going to try to be nice to him, it might as well be when she was so cheerful.

"Family reunion at breakfast today?" Malfoy called out to them.

Albus grinned. "Fred sent us a package. Good news about Divination."

He looked confused. "What good news could there _ever_ be about Divination?"

Albus tossed him a snackbox. "We don't have it today."

Malfoy looked down at it, and then at Rose. "Going to tell on us, prefect?"

She shrugged. "What do I care? It's a rubbish class, and I don't know why anyone ever signs up for it." She reached into her bag. "Here, Malfoy, have a chocolate frog."

He caught it. "Is she okay?" he asked Albus, looking apprehensive.

"She's just in a good mood," Albus said distractedly. "Hey, Rosie, did you give that… thing… back to James?" Rose shook her head, and Albus grinned. "Lunchtime?"

"Definitely." Rose made her way toward the desk she usually shared with Damien and Colleen and slipped in between them.

"How was breakfast?" Damien asked as she took her notebook and quill out.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, you know. My cousin Fred just sent us a couple things. Trinkets, really."

"I'm sure." Binns drifted through the blackboard, and Rose opened her notebook.

The rest of the morning was punctuated with frequent explosions. A particularly loud one occurred just as Albus was exiting their Transfiguration classroom, and he winced. "Come on," he said, once he was sure she could hear him. "Let's find a classroom and see what they're going to be planning this afternoon." Rose looked at Malfoy, who was standing behind him. Albus scowled. "Rose, he's my friend, and he can come."

She decided that getting into an argument about it in the hallway was not going to help anyway, and turned without challenging her cousin. "Today's such a good day, don't you think?"

"Maybe your cousin should send a package to her every day," she heard Malfoy mutter to Albus.

"Remember that part where it's probably better for all of us if you don't see this side of her very often?" she could hear Albus mutter back.

"Yeah. I do." They caught up with her. She was humming an old Weird Sisters song, and found herself unable to stop smiling.

Albus frowned. "Are you sure no one spiked your drink or your food this morning?"

"Am I not allowed to be in a good mood?"

"Rosie, you are always allowed to be in a good mood." He looked into a classroom. "No one's in here right now."

Once the door was closed, Rose crossed her arms and looked at Malfoy. "Will he tell anyone?"

Malfoy's eyes flickered from her to Albus. "Al, what exactly are you getting me into?" he asked, looking a little apprehensive. "If you have to kill me if you tell me or something like that, please just don't tell me."

Al shrugged. "No, he won't." He looked at Malfoy. "Will you?"

"I don't know! I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Albus looked back at Rose. "Whatever. No, he won't."

"Do I not get a say in what I will or won't do?" Malfoy demanded.

"You won't," Albus said. "Come on, Rose. It's lunch, and I'm sure they'll be taking advantage of it to put that stuff all over the place. I want to see where."

"Fair enough." She pulled the parchment out of her bag, and Albus sat down at one of the tables. After a moment of hesitation, so did Malfoy. Rose pulled out her wand to tap the parchment, but first she looked at Malfoy. "If you tell _anyone_ about this, it's war."

"Look," he said, seeming distinctly uncomfortable, "I'll just leave. I don't need some deep dark Weasley secret to keep."

"It's actually a Potter secret," Albus said, only half-listening. "You're fine. Ignore Rose."

"How on earth are you going to see what your family is doing from this classroom?" asked Malfoy.

"If he tells someone and James kills you both, tell him it wasn't my idea before you croak." She unfolded the piece of paper. Malfoy was eying the piece of parchment like he was expecting it to explode. Given the morning, Rose couldn't exactly blame him. She pointed her wand and whispered as she tapped it, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"What a surprise," Malfoy muttered, looking at the parchment. Lines began to appear on the paper, and his eyes went wide. "What the—"

Rose looked at Albus expectantly, and Albus sighed. "It's the Marauder's Map," he said.

"What the _hell_ is a Marauder's Map?"

"The," Rose corrected as she rummaged in her bag for a chocolate frog. "There's only one."

He rolled his eyes. "What's _the_ Marauder's Map, then?"

"It's a Potter family secret," Albus repeated, and looked at Rose. "Go ahead," he said. "You understand it better than me." She swallowed the piece of her frog that she'd bitten off. "You keep eating that much chocolate, it's going to go straight to your hips," he teased.

"That's okay, they could use it," she answered. "I'm too bony there, anyway."

Malfoy opened his mouth, paused, and repeated, "What is the Marauder's Map?"

Rose was very sure that that was not what he had initially been planning to say. "It's a map of Hogwarts."

He frowned and leaned over to look at it closer. He had apparently been too surprised by the lines appearing on the yellowed parchment to process what those lines were. "Huh." His eyes widened, and he pointed to a classroom. "Is that…"

Rose leaned over. "Yes, that's us."

"What _is_ this?" he asked again, sounding a little more awestruck than he had before.

"It's the Marauder's Map," Rose repeated helpfully. He glared at her, and Albus cleared his throat. "Fine, have it your way," she said. "It's a map of Hogwarts. It shows everyone and everything in the castle."

"Except for the Chamber of Secrets," Albus pointed out.

Malfoy stared at him. "That's an actual thing? I mean, it's real?"

"Yep. My dad told us about it, last New Year's," Rose said. You could always manage to convince her parents or her aunt to start telling interesting stories about their time at Hogwarts once they'd had enough to drink, and since it didn't happen very often, she, Hugo, and her cousins tried to take full advantage of it when it did. "Apparently it was built to house the basilisk _your_ house founder left in the school."

Malfoy jerked his head around, as if expecting a basilisk to be lurking in the corner of the room. "A basilisk?"

"It's dead now," Albus said quickly. "My father killed it in his second year."

Malfoy's eyebrows looked as though they were in dangerous of disappearing into his hairline. "Your _father_ killed a _basilisk_ in his _second year?"_ After a moment, he relaxed. "Very funny. You had me going for a minute."

"I'm not joking. My mother almost died."

"My mother got petrified," Rose offered. She'd heard about that particular story two Christmases ago.

Malfoy stared at them. "You're serious."

"Yes," Albus agreed. "We are."

"So, wait a minute," Malfoy said slowly, clearly trying to process the information. "There was a basilisk attaching people while our parents were at school?"

Rose studied his face. It seemed to really be the first time he was hearing about it. "Yes," she said. "Didn't you know that?"

Malfoy shook his head. "You guys have definitely gotten more interesting stories about Hogwarts from your parents than I have from mine. The most exciting thing my father's told me is that he got mauled by a hippogriff because he was being an ass."

"That's what he said?" Rose asked skeptically.

"Yeah. It was part of his 'if you're going to take Care of Magical Creatures, pay attention in it' lecture." Malfoy managed a smile. "I get the feeling that most of his most memorable times at Hogwarts don't exactly fill him with pride."

Albus looked at Rose. "Is the room of requirement on there? I never checked." It was a rather transparent attempt to make his friend feel less uncomfortable, but she went along with it.

"No," she answered. Albus didn't tend to use the map or the cloak very often; as a student whose rule-breaking was typically limited to occasionally sneaking down to the kitchens at night and using skiving snackboxes, he didn't have much need for them.

Malfoy looked lost again. "What the _hell_ is the room of requirement?"

"Well, it's also known as the come-and-go room," Rose told him.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Gee, that's helpful. Thanks, Red."

"It's a room that's… well, it's complicated. I'll show you some time," said Albus.

Malfoy did not look particularly mollified. "And your parents told you about that?"

"No," Rose said. "One of our cousins did." She certainly wasn't going to tell him any more than that. He could probably guess without too much effort that Fred was involved, but she doubted that he would ever guess that Victoire had found it first.

He either sensed that she wasn't going to go into more detail or decided that he didn't care. "So where did the map come from, then?"

"It belonged to my father," Albus said. "James nicked it out of his desk, and now it's his."

"And he just shares it with you whenever you want it?" asked Malfoy. He did not seem to believe that.

Typical Slytherin. They didn't understand the idea of generosity. "Of course," Rose snapped.

Malfoy looked like he wanted to say something, but shrugged it off. "So, wait a minute," he said. "It shows _everything?_"

"Yes," Albus said.

He frowned. "What if someone was an animagus or something?" he asked, clearly trying to make sense of it.

She shook her head. "They still show up."

"What about the polyjuice potion?" Rose had the distinct impression that Malfoy was trying to find something that the map could not do.

"You still show up as yourself, not the person you turned into," she said.

"You're not going to tell me how you know that, are you," he said, not really making it a question.

There was a funny story behind her answers to both of his questions, but she would be damned if she was going to share it with him. "Nope."

She could see the wheels in Malfoy's head turning. "What about an invisibility cloak?" Rose and Albus looked at each other. Malfoy saw the glance, and said, "What?"

"Don't ask," Rose said.

"Seriously," added Albus.

He looked like he wanted to, but he let it go. "Fair enough." He glanced at the map again. "It seems damn useful."

"It is," Rose and Albus said together.

Rose leaned over to examine the map more carefully, feeling that they had wasted quite enough time on explaining it to Malfoy.

"That's a pretty necklace," Malfoy commented.

She looked up at him, and saw his gaze directed toward the pendant. She touched it. "Oh. Thanks. It was a gift."

"From who?" he asked.

"My cousin." She looked back at the map to discourage further questions. "Look for Marion and Tyler, too," she murmured. After a moment, Rose pointed to the dot labeled _Marion Thomas_ moving around the Gryffindor common room.

Albus grinned. "Excellent. I should have known. No one can very well avoid their own common room."

Malfoy was studying the map. After a moment, he pointed to the dungeon. Rose followed his gaze, and saw a dot labeled _Roxanne Weasley_ wandering around the Potions classroom. "What do you want to bet it's fireworks?" Albus asked.

"Nothing," Rose replied. "I try not to make bets I know I'm going to lose."

"She's putting fireworks in Slughorn's classroom?" Malfoy asked, looking surprised. "I thought she liked Potions."

"She does," Albus said. "But she also likes being destructive." He pointed to a dot labeled _Tyler Jordan_, who moving around the hallway she'd heard Albus and Malfoy talking in the day before_._ "There he is on the fourth floor. What _is_ it about that floor?"

"Sentimental value?" offered Rose. "The swamp was a seriously cool bit of magic." She pointed to the dot on the first floor labeled _James Potter_. "There's James."

Albus grinned. "Oh, I hope that whatever he's done, it gets us out of Muggle Studies. Then if we use a snackbox to get out of Divination, we've got most of our afternoon free."

"_You_ take Muggle Studies?" Rose asked Malfoy, surprised.

"Wow, you _do_ say everything that's on your mind, don't you?" he asked. "Yeah. I do."

Rose pointed to the kitchens. "Three guesses what Hugo and Lily are doing."

Albus laughed, but Malfoy just shook his head. "What?"

"Let's put it this way," Albus said. "Don't eat anything at dinner. Definitely don't have any dessert."

Rose smirked. "I cannot wait for dinner."

"You going to warn anyone?" asked Albus.

"Are you kidding me? Hell, no." She frowned. "I do think I'm going to run over to Hogsmeade, though."

Malfoy stared at her. "Just like that."

"Oh, well, I've got a few free periods," Rose said breezily. She tapped her wand to the parchment. "Mischief managed."

When she straightened up, she saw Malfoy's gaze flick upward.

Albus grabbed his bag. "I'm going to run up to my dormitory to get my books. I'll meet you at Muggle Studies, Scorpius. Bye, Rose."

Malfoy got up and left with him.

Rose had just carefully folded the map and put it away when Malfoy walked back in. "Yes?" she asked. Then she saw the wand in his hand, and grabbed hers off the desk.

Before she had a chance to say a spell, he pointed his wand at her. "Expelliarmus!"

Nothing happened. She smirked.

"Yeah," he said. "I thought so. Real cute. It seemed weird that I somehow managed to miss you on your way to arithmancy and toward transfiguration. By 'cousin,' I'm assuming you meant 'Fred.'"

She shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah. It did." He sat on a desk. "You know, just because you're in a good mood today doesn't mean I'm not going to make you pay for this." He brushed his hair out of his face. "One way or another."

She sat on a desk, too. "Bring it. I don't ever have to take this off."

"Don't worry," he said. "The sorting hat seriously considered putting me in Ravenclaw. I'll find a way."

"The sorting hat didn't consider putting me in anything but Gryffindor," she said, proudly.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Well. What a surprise."

"So, tell me," she said. "Were you really just noticing my necklace, or were you staring down my shirt?"

"You know, Red, the world doesn't actually revolve around you." The red tinge to his cheeks belied his brush-off, and she smiled smugly.

"Do you think that my hips are just fine the way they are?" she taunted.

He got up. "You know, Red, I was just starting to forget why I hated you quite so much. Thanks for bringing it all back."

She smiled sweetly. "Well, that's better for all of us, isn't it?" His cheeks got redder. She smirked.

He walked toward her, and said, when they were practically nose-to-nose, "Look. You should get this straight," he snapped. "As you so _cleverly_ deduced by hiding behind portraits and eavesdropping, yeah, unfortunately, I _do _find you physically attractive. That doesn't actually mean that I want to be with you. I'd rather kiss the giant squid," he spat.

"Really?" she asked, licking her lips.

His face got even redder, and he drew back. "God, you are _such_ a tease. Yeah. _Really._"

"Poor baby," she said. "Go cry to Albus. And while you're at it, explain to him why you're looking down my shirt to begin with."

He looked as though he'd been forced to swallow stinksap. When she looked back at the door and turned the knob, he cried, "Stupefy!"

She looked back at him and smirked.

He sneered back. "Just checking. Later, Red," he said, as opened the door. "Watch your back. I owe you for this ridiculous hair."

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to Marciabarcia for reviewing last chapter, way back when I was first writing it._

_Thank you for reading, and I would so appreciate a review if you would care to leave one! :)_


	9. A Visit to the Village

A Visit to the Village

Rose was not particularly worried about Malfoy. She felt vaguely as though she should be, as Malfoy clearly wasn't stupid. However, she just couldn't see how he was going to get around the shield charm. Sure, unforgivable curses and powerful dark magic could get through it, but it wasn't as though he would use the Cruciatus Curse just because she'd turned his hair red. He was a git, but from what she knew of him—which was rather more than she wanted to, because he spent so much time with Albus—he wasn't interested in dark magic. In fact, according to Albus (who was usually right about these things), he downright hated it.

So what was there to worry about?

"Hey, Rosie," she heard behind her, and turned around.

"Hey, James."

"I just saw Lily and Hugo a little while ago." He leaned against the wall. "They said that they were planning to infiltrate the kitchens."

"I saw," she told him, patting her bag. He smirked. "I'm planning to run into Hogsmeade now, actually. _I _don't want to turn into a pelican."

"So you saw us all over the castle?" he asked.

Rose nodded. "But it's not as though he sent us _that _much. How—"

"When the opportunity presented itself, we thought we'd supplement it with our stash," he said, looking very pleased with himself.

She stared at him. "You're going to end up with detentions and a howler again, you know."

He shrugged. "Maybe, depending how much they can pin on me. It'd be worth it either way." He ran a hand through his hair. With difficulty, Rose resisted the urge to tease him about it. "So are you skiving off classes already, or do you just have this afternoon off?"

"I just have Potions last, and I have a theory that it will be canceled today."

"Why's that?" he asked innocently.

"Because I know that Roxanne's favorite thing to do is to set off fireworks." Rose was convinced that Roxanne considered it a wasted week if she did not manage to set off some fireworks (or at the very least, set something on fire) at least once. It was the only explanation for the regularity with which she managed to do so.

"Are you telling me that you think she lacks subtlety?" James straightened up. "Let's go ask Slughorn if you have Potions. I wouldn't want to enable one of our brand new prefects skipping class."

She rolled her eyes. "You just want to see the mayhem."

"Yes, I do," he agreed cheerfully. She let him lead her down toward the dungeons. "Hey, was Roxanne alone, or was Marion with her?" he asked off-handedly.

"Alone, why?" Rose glanced at him.

James shrugged. "Just curious."

They caught Slughorn just as he was exiting the classroom. "Ms. Weasley? What are you doing down here?" Then he saw James, who has a step behind her, and broke into a smile. "Shouldn't have asked." Rose was not sure whether to be offended or pleased that she was considered fairly trustworthy unless she was in the company of her notoriously untrustworthy cousins. "Well, if you're looking to dismantle the dungeon, Ms. Roxanne Weasley has already beat you to it." They heard a loud bang inside.

"What did she do?" asked Rose eagerly.

"Set off some firecrackers, naturally," he said. This was not the first time Roxanne had dismantled the Potions classroom with fireworks. "Yes, most disruptive, but you just have admire the cheek."

"I quite agree, sir," James said seriously.

Slughorn chuckled. "Yes, yes, well, of course you do. And what have _you_ done today, Mr. Potter?"

James smiled. "I've been on my very best behavior, sir."

Slughorn shook his head, still chuckling. "Well, well. I'm having one of my little dinners on Friday," he told them, "so don't schedule a practice!" He walked away, calling over his shoulder to Rose, "I don't think we'll be having class today, Ms. Weasley. Enjoy your afternoon."

"He's mad," she murmured to James, but felt a grin spreading across her face. Mad or not, Rose rather liked Slughorn most of the time, and not just because he let Roxanne get away with murder.

"Yeah," he said. "It's lucky he likes us. Can you imagine McGonagall laughing about firecrackers in the dungeon?"

"Nope." She shrugged. "Well, that's my afternoon free. Let me just drop off my books and we can go." As they made their way back up the stairs, she asked, "Do you have the afternoon free, then? I thought you lot had Transfiguration today."

"We do." He put his hands behind his head and stretched. "But I figure I'll probably be getting detention, anyway, if we even have it."

They'd reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She smiled down at them. "Password?"

"Devil's Snare," James said clearly.

The portrait swung open, and they climbed in. James sauntered over to several of his fellow sixth years while Rose climbed up the stairs that led to the girl's dormitories. After passing five of them, she opened the door to the room she'd shared with Colleen Macmillan, Caitlin Cadwallader, and Holly Zeller for the past four years. Not surprisingly, given that it was the middle of the day, the room was empty. She quickly stowed her books in the trunk at the foot of her bed before heading back down the stairs. When she reentered the common room, James was still chatting with his friends.

"Hi, Rose," Julian Fairbourne greeted her as she joined them.

She smiled back. "Hi, Julian." She really wasn't sure why Albus disliked him so much. She looked at Bridget Hopkins and Danielle Mirfield and nodded. "Hi, Bridget, Danielle." She didn't know either of them as well as Julian; Julian was a better friend of James and Roxanne's, and she wouldn't necessarily say that which sixth-years she was close to was entirely dependent on them, it certainly had something to do with it. So did the fact that she'd gone out with him for a few months the year before.

Bridget and Danielle returned the greeting. After a few minutes, she and James excused themselves from the conversation and climbed out of the portrait hole.

"I think Julian still fancies you," James teased Rose as they made their way toward the corridor with the statue of the witch that would lead them into Honeydukes.

She rolled her eyes. "As if. We ended that months ago."

"Don't you mean you ended it?" he asked, still teasing. "Maybe he was heartbroken. Maybe he's pining away."

Rose snorted. "Yeah, that's it." As they turned a corner, James ran a hand through his hair and glanced around. "Looking for someone?"

James's face suddenly became the picture of innocence. "Like who?"

She gave it up. It wasn't worth it to press him while he was on his guard. She'd have to wait until he wasn't expecting it. "Anyway, I doubt that Julian still fancies me." She thought of Scorpius's sour face. "I've heard that my pretty face isn't worth my nightmare personality."

It was James's turn to snort. "Who told you that? Bet you whoever it was asks you out before your birthday."

Rose knew better than to bet with James – he had an uncanny habit of being _right_ about that sort of thing – but she thought that the odds of that happening were very slim. "Somehow I doubt that," she told him. They'd reached the statue of the witch, and she pulled out her wand. _"Dissendium."_

They both clambered inside. "So who _did_ tell you that?" James pressed.

"Malfoy," Rose told him.

He laughed. "Maybe I'm a bit off, then. Still, I suppose stranger things have happened."

"Not much stranger," she muttered.

"True," he said, the humor still apparent in his voice.

When they reached the end of the passage, they snuck up the stairs and out of Honeydukes under the cloak before ducking in the shadows of the building to pull it off.

When the bell over Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes tinkled as they opened the door a few minutes later, Fred looked up from the table in the back and let out a loud guffaw. "School in mayhem?" he called.

"You know it," James told him, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Just tell them where you got it," he said, grinning.

Rose laughed. "They _know_ where we got it."

As she and James made their way to the back of the store, Rose noticed a new display on the left wall. The sign above it said "All-New Shield Charms!" in large capital letters and underneath, in slightly smaller size, "Never get jinxed again." The display was empty so far, but judging from the size of it, there was going to be an extensive selection. She and James settled themselves in the two remaining chairs at the table, and Fred waved his wand to banish the plants he'd clearly been experimenting with to the back room.

"No customers?" asked James, looking around.

"Nah, it's a slow day, especially with all of the students up at the school." Fred looked at them. "Theoretically."

"Well, it wasn't hard to sneak away," James said.

Fred looked faintly surprised. "I didn't send you all that much with real destructive potential."

"We improvised and supplemented." James leaned his chair back. "Could we have something to drink?"

Fred raised his wand, and several bottles of butterbeer floated over. Rose took one and opened it, but James just looked at Fred, who laughed and raised his wand again. As Rose took a swig, another bottle and two glasses floated over, and when they'd landed, Fred opened the firewhiskey. "You are _not_ having all of it," he said, pouring about filling one glass about a quarter of the way and putting twice that much in the other.

He pushed the first glass to James, who scoffed. "That's hardly any!"

Fred made to take the glass away. "I could just give you none."

James snatched up the glass. "No, I'm good." He took a drink, and shuddered. "I love this stuff."

Fred downed a significant portion of his own glass and put the bottle in the centre of the table. "So, Rosie," he said, taking a drink of the whiskey himself. "What did you do so early in the school year to make someone want to jinx you?"

"Well, I went to work with Al in the library, and that Malfoy prat was there with him. Al got up for a few minutes, and Malfoy insulted me. I told James and Roxanne about it, and the next morning I went off to have an alibi with Albus and they jinxed his hair red."

Fred's face lit up. "That's perfect."

"We thought so, too," James said proudly.

"But he knows it was me, so he wants payback. He's already tried to get me at least a few times today." Rose smirked and touched the necklace. "Didn't work, though."

"When? How do you know?" asked James, turning to look at her. "You never said—"

"He told me. He tried to disarm me, it didn't work, and he said it hadn't worked when I was between classes, either, and told me that even if I was wearing a special necklace he'd find a way to get me." She shrugged. "I'm not worried, though."

"We could just go after him," James said. "I'm sure I'm going to get a howler from home, anyway, for today."

"No," Rose said. "Then Al will be mad at us. Anyway, I can take him."

James shrugged.

"So, has someone taken it on themselves to go into the kitchens to dose all the food?" asked Fred, eagerly. "I was hoping one of you would."

"Hugo and Lily," Rose said. "I saw them on the map, and they told James about it."

Fred laughed. "So you're here to get untainted food?"

"Well," James started, finishing his firewhiskey, "yes, mostly, but it's always nice to have an impromptu visit with you anyway." He held out the glass. "C'mon, Fred, just a little more."

Fred obliged, and then turned back to Rose. "I'm proud to see that being made a prefect hasn't stopped you from going out-of-bounds in your first two weeks back."

She grinned. "Did you really think it would?"

"Nope," Fred said. "I knew you wouldn't go the Molly or Lucy route, start putting them all in detention for little missteps."

Rose shrugged, and had a swig of her butterbeer. "It's unsporting to put family in detention."

Fred clinked his glass to her butterbeer. "Hear, hear."

"Though Lucy really does try to avoid putting us in detention," James said fairly. "She's only done it to me and Roxanne a couple of times, and we _really_ deserved it."

"What did you do?" Fred asked interestedly.

"One time she caught us making pumpkins filled with stinksap explode over Deborah Baddock and Victoria Summerby, and the other we slipped Julian a love potion and made sure he saw her first. He followed her around for an entire day before coming out of it." James was clearly enjoying the memories; apparently, the detentions had had no effect. Rose somehow wasn't surprised.

Fred looked faintly surprised. "Good for her."

"She even took some snackboxes today," Rose put in. "She was very impressed with the selection."

"Huh." Fred took another swig of his whiskey. "I clearly haven't been giving her enough credit." After a moment, he looked at James. "Rose says you're putting them through the ropes at practice. I'm proud of you."

James leaned forward enthusiastically, and he and Rose were off, describing the team's improvement, their competition, and their new training regimen. They'd both started on the team under Fred, and he'd helped them turn develop into very good players. As such, they were always exceedingly eager to impress him, and he was always very interested in hearing about how the team was doing without him.

"So Annabelle is coming along," James was saying when Fred checked the time on his watch. "She's not up to your standard, but she's good."

Fred grinned, and stood up. "It's been great seeing you guys, but you should get going if you want to buy food and get back to school in time for dinner."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Rose and James said together.

Fred walked them to the front of the shop, and handed them a large bag. "I thought I might be seeing one of you today," he said.

"Fred," Rose said, laughing, "you _just_ sent us a huge box this morning!"

He shrugged. "Yeah, well. If you're causing real mayhem, I want to encourage it. Good advertising. They'll be streaming in here first Hogsmeade weekend."

"They will anyway," Rose said, and James pulled out his money bag.

Fred shook his head as James tried to offer him gold. "Don't be ridiculous. You're family. Anyway, James, your father gave them the start up money and hasn't ever let my dad pay him back. My father probably wouldn't accept your money, either." Rose opened her mouth, and he said, "You're family too, Rosie. Look, I'm feeling generous today, and we made a killing right before the school year started. You're not the only ones planning to make trouble. It's fine."

He gave both of them a hug. "Thanks," Rose said. "Especially for this." She touched the necklace. "Hey, did you do house colors on purpose? We were wondering."

"Yep." He looked pleased with himself. "I thought it would be fitting."

"It is," she said, smiling. "You know, we miss having you at school, but it's kind of fun to have one of our favourite cousins right here in the village."

"Here to welcome you and serve you illegal drinks when you sneak out of school?" he asked, his eyes gleaming.

James grinned. "Next year it won't be illegal," he said.

"Yeah, well," said Fred. "Today probably won't be the only time I serve you firewhiskey before then, either."

He gave them each a hug. "Get going. I'll see you soon."

They left the shop, waving back to Fred.

"We are a little spoiled, aren't we?" Rose asked James.

"Yeah, a bit," he said unconcernedly. "I don't see that as a problem, do you?"

"Not especially." She smiled. "Hey, let's go into the Three Broomsticks."

James tried very briefly to dissuade her before giving up, clearly too uncomfortable with being the voice of reason to press the issue. After a quick conversation with Madam Abbott – who, Rose had reminded James, had never turned them in yet – and a quick stop in the Magic Neep, they came to a stop near Honeydukes.

James shifted the bag of butterbeers he was carrying from one arm to the other. "It's going to be fun sneaking back into the cellar with this," he commented. "Got any more decoy detonators?" She pulled one out of her pocket and held it up. "Oh, good." He looked at the bag in her hand. "Though Fred probably put some in there. It's monstrous, what on earth did he put in there?"

"We'll look later," she said impatiently. "Come on."

They went into Honeydukes, and got a similar reception from the owners that they'd gotten from Madam Abbott in the Three Broomsticks. When they left the shop, however, they were each carrying a bag stuffed with sweets, including cauldron cakes, chocolate wands, exploding bonbons, toffees, and treacle fudge.

They made a show of walking away, and then James slipped the invisibility cloak over them both.

"Ow!" Rose whimpered as the bag of butterbeers slammed into her side.

"Sorry!" whispered James. "But the butterbeers _were_ your idea."

Rose dropped a decoy detonator right outside the door. When it exploded, the owners ran outside, and she and James slipped in through the open door.

"Must have escaped from Weasleys'," she heard the man say as they hurried down the stairs.

"It's amazing how often that works," she said softly to James.

He chuckled quietly as they pulled open the trapdoor. "It is."

* * *

_A/N: As always, I really hope that you enjoyed this installment, and would love it if you'd leave a review! :)_


	10. Bribery

Bribery

They had to duck into several unused classrooms on their way back to the common room. Between prefects, teachers, and the caretaker, there were plenty of people about who would have been happy to put them in detention for going out-of-bounds, as their packages clearly indicated that they had. Even students, who wouldn't have necessarily wanted to get them in trouble, would have raised quite a commotion.

The common room wasn't full, but it wasn't empty, either, and when they clambered through the portrait hole, they got a reception.

Charlotte Finnigan, one of the seventh year prefects, was perched in a chair near the entrance. She glanced up when they climbed in, and when she saw Rose, her eyes narrowed. "Rose Weasley, have you been out-of-bounds?"

"Don't know what could have given you that idea," Rose responded, swallowing hard. Charlotte _could_ get her into serious trouble.

"Oh, come on, Charlotte," said Roxanne, swooping down on her. "Be nice. She didn't skip class or anything."

Charlotte looked at Roxanne, who had her elbows on the back of the chair and was beaming at them both. "Roxanne," she started, "That's really against the rules. I could get in trouble for not reporting it."

"Do you want a cauldron cake?" asked Rose, winningly.

Charlotte let out an exasperated sigh. "Bribery, Rose? Really?"

"Oh, come on, Charlotte," she pleaded.

"Then again," Charlotte said, a thoughtful expression on her face, "if I put you in detention, you'll miss practice, and we might lose a match. I really don't want to be the one who lost the cup for Gryffindor." She smiled. "I don't need an entire cake, but if you've got a few chocolate cauldrons, I wouldn't say no to them."

"Thanks," Rose said, gratefully. "I swear I didn't skip any classes to go there."

Alex, who'd clearly been hovering in wait for the conversation between Rose and his sister to resolve, called out, "Why did they make you a prefect again?"

"I don't know," she called back. "Maybe they're hoping it'll encourage me to behave myself!" He grinned. "I'll be back down in a few," she said, picking up the bags she'd set on the floor.

She walked past Roxanne, who was now having an animated conversation with Charlotte about N.E.W.T.s, and elbowed James, who was clearly enjoying the attention he was getting from an assorted group of sixth and seventh years. Rose elbowed him. "Let's get this upstairs."

He made a face at her. "Killjoy," he muttered, but he picked up the bags and followed her up the stairs that led to the boy's dormitories. When they reached the sixth year's door, James kicked it open and they dropped the packages on his bed. "You know," he said, "just once, I'd like to toss stuff all over your room and leave it for you to clean up."

Rose shrugged. "Not my fault you can't come up into our dormitory."

"James? Rose?" called a voice from the stairs.

Rose bounded to the door. "Al! Come up here!"

He took the stairs two at a time. "What, did James go with you to Hogsmeade—good lord, what did you _get?"_

"We stopped into to say hi to Fred," James told him around a mouthful of chocolate frog. He looked at the card, still chewing. "Damn, Cliodna." He swallowed, tossed in onto his bedside table, and said, "I'll give to Hugo." He turned to the bag stamped with WWW. "What do you reckon he gave us?" he asked Rose.

She sat down on the bed and started taking things out of it. "Oh, fireworks!"

James punched the air. "Yes! Roxanne used up the last of our stock on the Potions classroom. I hate not having a box, it makes me feel naked." Rose and Albus exchanged a look and snickered. "Well, it _does!"_

"Yeah," Albus said. "Slughorn mentioned that, when I showed up for class. Told me it was canceled because firecrackers kept landing in cauldrons." He looked at Rose. "_You_ weren't there. Did you set out to skip _Potions?"_

"Nah. He told me it was canceled."

"Didn't you have Transfiguration?" Albus asked his brother, who was pulling a box of garroting gas from the bag and looking as though all of his dreams had come true.

"Good question," James said cheerfully. "If I'm lucky, maybe it was canceled." He opened another chocolate frog. "Damnit! Wendelin the Weird." He tossed it onto his bedside table as well. "You check the map during lunch, too?"

"Yep." Al grinned. "Maybe _some_ people were sneaking out of the castle, but Scorpius and I took our divination-free period to wander around to all the places we saw you guys making trouble."

James looked up quickly from the portable swamp. "Wait, we? Who exactly do you mean?"

Rose took another chocolate cauldron and said, "It wasn't my idea, I got bullied into it," before taking a bite.

James gave Albus a sharp look, and Albus glared at Rose. "Gee, Rosie, thanks for the help."

She shrugged. "I told you I wouldn't," she said, after she'd swallowed.

"I'm waiting," James said, tapping his foot on the floor. Rose popped the rest of her cauldron in her mouth and settled back to enjoy the argument she suspected was coming.

Albus groaned. "Okay, look, James, I know you don't like him, but he is _my_ friend. He promised he wouldn't tell." When James kept staring at his brother, Albus added, "Scorpius."

James did not look appeased. "You told _Malfoy _about our map?"

Albus frowned, clearly starting to get irritated. "Okay, James, look—first, yeah, it's _our_ map, not _your_ map. Second, you've told _several _of your friends, Lily and Hugo's friend Annabelle knows, and I haven't told a soul. Yeah. I told one friend. You've told people, too. You don't have any right to complain."

James ran a hand over his perpetually messy hair. "That's _different._ I know they're trustworthy, and _they_ aren't trying to hex my cousin."

Albus rolled his eyes impatiently. "Yes, James, and I _know_ that Scorpius is trustworthy. He's probably my best friend here apart from you lot. Anyway, it's not like I'd let him use the map to _find_ Rose. Which is more than I can say for her," he added, as an afterthought. James opened his mouth furiously, and Albus held up a hand. "Yes, it's different, yes, she's family, yes, she's entitled, and yes, I am aware that _you_ were the one that nicked it. He'll never see the map unless it's in _my_ hands. Will you please just calm down?"

James sighed. "I guess that's fair enough. But if he uses it to find Rosie, at all, I'm never giving to you again."

"I don't have a problem with that." Albus looked at Rosie. "Hey, what _happened,_ speaking of Scorpius?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said, scrutinizing the portable swamp box. "Hey, James, this isn't out on the shelves yet!"

"Yes, you do," Albus snapped. "You seemed to be getting along reasonably well at lunch." Rose gave him a skeptical look, and he said, "I said _reasonably well_, Rose, not _amazingly."_ She shrugged, and he pressed further. "Then this afternoon when we were in Muggle Studies—"

"_Malfoy_ takes _Muggle Studies?"_ James asked, clearly taken aback.

"Yes," Albus said, without looking away from Rose. "Then this afternoon, I said something about wishing we'd gone to Hogsmeade instead of class, and he made some comment about not being able to bear your company for an entire afternoon. What happened?"

She cleared her throat. "A few minutes after you left, at lunch, he came back in and tried to disarm me. It didn't work. Apparently he'd been try to get me between classes, and thought it was a little unlikely that his spells had just happened to miss me. Then we had words and he tried to stun me when I left." James looked outraged, and she added, "To his credit, I think he was pretty sure it wouldn't work."

"That's all?" Albus asked.

"Essentially."

He looked at her for a moment, and then said, "I hate it when you use that word."

Rose shrugged. "Look, maybe something else I said ticked him off, I don't know. Or maybe he was just ticked off he wasn't able to get me. You'd have to ask him," she told him, knowing that Malfoy was exceedingly unlikely to admit to Albus that he was especially pissed off at her because she'd caught him out at looking down her shirt.

"Okay," Al said, doubtfully. "Just fair warning, though, Rosie—necklace or no necklace, sooner or later he's going to get you back. I'm not saying I want him to," he said to his brother, forestalling his objection, "but I am saying that he's smart, really smart, and he'll figure out a way. Shield charms don't block everything. There are potions, and even if he can't get a spell on _you_, he _can_ charm other things."

"If he's so smart, why isn't he in Ravenclaw?" James demanded.

Albus shrugged. "Roxanne and Rose are so smart, and they're not in Ravenclaw, either."

"Yeah, but Gryffindor's the best house."

"I'm not getting into this with either of you. I'm just saying that he's a smart guy, and shield charm or no, he'll figure out a way to get you back."

James looked at Rose, who was chewing on her lip and feeling distinctly uncomfortable. "Don't worry. We'll talk later," he told her.

Albus looked at the packages. "We're officially done with this conversation. What on earth did you guys _get?"_

When the three of them came down the stairs half an hour later, James and Albus went to sit with Roxanne by the fire. Rose walked over to Charlotte, who was still absorbed in work, and held out a small box of chocolate cauldrons.

Charlotte looked up, startled, and then saw the box in Rose's hand. "Oh, god, Rose, no, I was joking."

"No, really. Take them," she said. When Charlotte looked as though she was going to refuse again, Rose added, "Look, I was going to give them to you anyway. You're going to have a headache and a half for the next few days." Charlotte was Rose's favorite non-relative prefect; she would give people detentions if they really deserved it, but she didn't go out of her way to find troublemakers, either.

Charlotte shot a glance at James and Roxanne. "You know, I'm caught," she said slowly, "between feeling indignant and just being entertained."

"Personally, I'd go with entertained," Rose suggested. "You'll be happier."

"Mm-hmm." Charlotte smiled in spite of herself. "It amazes me how much you can get away with."

Rose gave her a winning smile. "Well, I have to get away clean. I wouldn't want to put you in an awkward position!" The seventh-year laughed. "Enjoy the cauldrons, anyway."

"Oh, I will." Charlotte popped one into her mouth. "Thanks."

On her way to join her cousins in front of the fireplace, Rose paused by the table Alex, Colleen, and Damien were sitting at.

Alex looked up. "Tell us your secret, Rose. How is it that you manage to never get caught?"

She shrugged. "Family secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"Okay," he said, "so, were you _really_ in Hogsmeade today?"

"Ask me no secrets, I'll tell you no lies," she told them.

They looked skeptical, but didn't challenge her. Colleen and Damien went back to talking, but Alex smiled a little nervously. "Hey, Rose, I'm wondering. Would you maybe be interested in going to Hogsmeade with me? The first Hogsmeade weekend, I mean?"

"Oh, sorry," she smiled. "I'm probably going to be spending all day with my family. Fred's there, you know, and Dominique might be coming to spend the day with us. I'm sure everybody else is going, though, don't worry, it's not as though you'll be alone!"

"Right," he responded. He looked a little disappointed, though Rose could not for the life of her understand why.

James called over to her. "Oi! Rose! Let's go down for dinner!"

She looked over, and he waved his hand, beckoning her over. She turned back to Alex. "Sorry, I should go. I'll talk to you later!"

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much to Marciabarcia, 'Hello,' and ErinFabu for their reviews way back when, and especially for the suggestion to tweak the story summary. :)_

_Again, thank you for reading, and please review! :)_


	11. A Memorable Dinner

A Memorable Dinner

Rose, James, and Albus opted to bring down butterbeers and sweets from Honeydukes to dinner rather than risk eating something that would turn them into babbling buffoons or birds or any number of other things. Roxanne, however, decided against taking these precautions, on the grounds that babbling incoherently could be highly entertaining.

Rose was not surprised when dinner turned out to be one of her most memorable meals thus far in her time at the school. As people served themselves and began to eat, they began to suddenly and inexplicably turn into large pelicans and then, several moments later, turn back into themselves. Others would suddenly and inexplicably start babbling nonsense. Students quickly began to realise that someone had tampered with the food, but avoiding the dangerous food proved to be a difficult task, as there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to what exactly had been tampered with.

The food affected did not just vary between tables: it also varied between plates. Even plates of food that seemed perfectly safe because someone else had just eaten off of it and failed to turn into a pelican or begin to babble nonsense were not necessarily so, because it was possible that the person eating had simply missed the carefully hidden sweets.

Many people seemed to think that going hungry one night was preferable to the effects caused by the food, and wisely chose to stick to the drinks, assuming—fairly reasonably—that they were sure to notice sweets in there.

Technically, this was true. However, Hugo and Lily had evidently foreseen this response, and had therefore taken it upon themselves to add potions to the drinks. Those should have at least easier to spot, since a pitcher was either safe or it was not, but the trouble was that they had apparently made a variety of potions, and the effects of all were not apparent immediately.

Rose wasn't sure if they had stockpiled them until such an opportunity presented itself, or had just quickly brewed some that morning. Either way, the potions that Hugo and Lily had the knowledge to brew in their third year were all fairly simple, but they were also quite effective.

She felt that more people should have seen it coming, once it was apparent that the food had been tampered with; she and James had bought butterbeer for precisely this possibility. As a result, more than a few people at this point were looking toward James and Roxanne suspiciously.

All around the Great Hall, people were slumping in their chairs, clearly half-asleep, or else looking around very confusedly as if they could not remember coming to the Great Hall to begin with. Both made it far more likely that people who had drunk them would not be lucid enough to be wary of desert.

On one hand, they did stop turning into pelicans, but on the other, they began to turn into large canaries, and the babbling gummies were clearly hidden in the deserts as well. Rose supposed that they could have used babbling beverages as well, but while Hugo and Lily were both fairly good at potions, she doubted they had the skill to make it.

She looked up at the high table, surprised that the teachers hadn't said anything, and saw that they were all looking unexpectedly mellow.

Albus leaned over to her and whispered, "I think they've been given calming draughts."

"Looks like," she whispered back.

Professor McGonagall eventually seemed to come to her senses, and stood up. Rose was too busy giggling at Roxanne, who had found a babbling gummy in her desert and decided to eat it anyway, to really pay attention to what McGonagall was saying, but she heard enough to gather that once they found the people responsible for this, they would be put in detention. She also gathered that prefects were still supposed to patrol that night, assuming they still felt capable.

"C'mon, Rose," James said as Roxanne continued to ramble on about Quidditch. "Just say you forgot, with this mayhem half the prefects who are supposed to patrol will."

"I know," she replied. "But I really should." She swallowed the rest of her butterbeer and looked at the clock. "I've got another few minutes."

She looked over at the Slytherin table to try to find Noah Nott, and received a surprise when she saw him walking toward her. She was about to point out the time on the clock when she realised that he wasn't actually heading toward her at all; he was heading toward Albus. She nudged him, and he looked up.

"What's up?" he called out. "Don't you have to go patrol in a few minutes?"

"Yeah," he said, stopping next to them. "Hi, Rose."

"Hi, Noah," she responded, feeling a little surprised at the greeting. Usually they just didn't acknowledge each other at all.

"Yeah," he repeated, looking back at Albus. "That's why I'm over here. I don't suppose you know what happened to the food?"

"Not precisely," Al said. "It wasn't me."

Noah looked over at James and Roxanne, the latter of whom had begun to giggle uncontrollably. It occurred to Rose that the effects of the babbling gummy seemed to be a little like being drunk, and she filed that observation away for future use.

"Surprisingly enough, it wasn't us, either," James told him.

Roxanne pointed across the table. "You're Noah Nott."

"Yeah. I know I am," he said.

"You're actually a pretty good seeker, you know," Roxanne told him. "We all think so."

He gave her a slightly bemused look. "Thanks, I guess. Look, Al," he said, turning back to Albus again, "I do have to patrol in the next few minutes. That's why I'm here. Scorpius… well, when we came down to dinner, he mentioned that he'd heard a rumor that the food would have some interesting effects when consumed, so neither of us actually ate anything until we thought we'd figured out what was safe."

"Did you see that the purple granite tells about chips and cigars?" Roxanne asked no one in particular.

Rose exchanged a look with James and giggled.

Nott looked like he wanted to laugh, too, but managed to refrain. "Well, I guessed lucky, and he, well, didn't. I think he got a babbling gummy, too. And he kept drinking, because he hadn't heard anything about potions being put into pitchers, which you obviously did."

Albus shook his head, and took another sup of his butterbeer. "No, we didn't hear about it, either. We just thought we'd play it safe."

"Ah. Anyway, I'm pretty sure there was a sleeping draught or _something _in whatever he drank, because he's gone really loopy."

Albus finished his drink. "Do you want me to help you?"

"Well, I do have to patrol," Noah said, "and Parkinson and Flint offered to help him back to the common room, but I don't particularly like or trust either one of them. I also don't like the idea of them potentially leaving him alone with the likes of Vera Zabini. She's… well, you know."

Rose didn't know, but Albus clearly did. "Yeah, I'll help him to the library or something until curfew."

"Thanks," said Nott, and Rose sighed.

"Al, you might get tossed out of the library if he's being anything like Roxanne," she pointed out.

They looked over her. "Hovering hummingbirds eat baby alligator's teeth off hatchets," she told James and a few second-years, looking very somber.

Albus blew out a breath, his brow furrowed. "I'll take him to Hagrid's."

Rose felt faintly surprised, but decided she'd table her confusion until later.

He made to get up, and she caught his sleeve. He looked at her, and she muttered, "Let me give you the map." She opened her bag and quickly hid it in a book, which she handed to him. "Just in case you gave time to do that homework," she said, lightly.

Albus put it in his bag. "Thanks."

She followed the two of them away from the table. "We probably ought to start patrol," she said.

Nott sighed. "Lucky us. I almost wish I _had_ eaten something like Scorpius, then I wouldn't have to deal with whatever pranks are planned for after dinner."

Rose looked back at the Gryffindor table. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, _they're_ probably not going to be doing anything tonight, not with her like that."

"Strangely enough, it does," he said dryly. When they reached the entrance of the Great Hall, he asked, "Do you care where you go?"

"Not really. Do you?"

"No. Why don't I circle around the top floors, and you can have the bottom?"

"Fine by me." Rose raised her hand in a parting wave. "See you."

They walked their separate ways, and it was Rose's luck that brought her through the entry hall just as Albus was steering Malfoy toward the door.

She looked at them skeptically. "Wouldn't the Room of Requirement be easier?"

Albus frowned. "I did consider that, but I really don't want to deal with Flint or Zabini cornering us and getting insistent about taking him downstairs to their common room."

"What's the issue there, exactly?" she asked.

Malfoy looked over at her. "Flint and Parkinson hate people and, and blood traitors, and all of that," he told her. "They also hate the sky in the place in the grindylow."

She raised her eyebrows and looked at Albus. "Translation?"

"Noah and Scorpius think that Flint and Parkinson see them both as blood traitors."

"_Really?"_

Albus rolled his eyes. "Yes, Rose, _really._ Anyway, they're not really people you'd trust at your back at a time like this."

"And," Malfoy added, leaning in close, "that Zabini girl, Virus, she's kind of a toad. Did you know that toads don't fly in aeroplanes or fellytones?"

"Yes, thank you," Rose told him. "Is she really? I didn't think she was that awful-looking."

Malfoy shook his head. "Toad. Her nose is squashed and her hair is ugly. Also she doesn't have a chest. Also—"

"Thanks, Scorpius," Albus said loudly. He looked at Rose. "None of us can figure out whether she thinks he's a blood traitor or fancies him or both, but he really can't stand her, and he'd kill us both if we let him go back to the common room and something happened with her."

"You know," Malfoy said, "I think it's good for a girl to have a chest. Otherwise, you could see her lungs and her heart, and there would be blood, and I'm not a vampire or even a dragon."

Rose giggled. Between the babbling and the flaming red hair, she was finding Malfoy to be quite entertaining.

He looked at her again, and seemed to remember who Al was talking to. "You know, Red," he said, "you have red hair. Is that why you made mine red?" She had no idea how to answer that, but thankfully, she didn't have to. "My hair looks better its real colour."

"I'm sure it'll fade soon," she told him, though in truth, she wasn't actually all that sure of it. James and Roxanne knew their jinxes well.

"Well, good, 'cause I look like a Weasley cousin right now and I'm not a Weasley. I'm also not a stoat. Or a ferret. My father got turned into a ferret once, did you know?"

She giggled again. "I did, actually."

"Well, if I was a stoat, that would be really inappropriate," he said. "Because I don't believe in incest. That whole family, all animals. Also, I think that's creepy. I'm learning about muggle science over this last summer, and I learned about DNA. It's interesting, isn't it?"

Rose was struggling to follow his train of thought, and Albus was clearly trying to do the same thing. "Yes," she said slowly. When her muggle grandparents had taken her to a science museum when she was younger, she'd found genetics quite interesting. She hoped that was what she was agreeing to.

"I think you're some distant cousins of mine," Malfoy decided. "Whales and squids are also kind of the same because they exist in water, though. We only have a squid here. Do you think it ever ate anyone?"

"I don't think so," Albus said, exchanging another look with Rose. "Come on, Scorpius. Let's go down to see Hagrid."

"Maybe he'll give him some of his cooking and glue his mouth shut," Rose said in an undertone to Albus, who laughed.

As he started to lead Scorpius toward the door, though, Scorpius stopped and looked at Rose again. "You do not look squashed and I cannot see your lungs or heart. And I am not a ferret."

"Glad to hear it," she replied.

"Also, I lied before," he told her.

Albus winced, as though he didn't know what was coming but knew it couldn't be good. "Let's go, Scorpius."

"The giant squid is not preferable!" he called over his shoulder.

She felt her face flush as she realised what he'd been talking about.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to 'B' for the review on last chapter back when I first published it. I really appreciated it!_

_Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you feel so inclined, I would love a review. :)_


	12. Blood Traitors

Blood Traitors

Rose ran into Nott about forty-five minutes into their patrol, as she was going upstairs to the second floor and he was turning off the landing of the third.

"Hey," she called, going a few steps above the second floor. "Bump into any trouble?"

"Surprisingly, no," he responded, coming further down the stairs. "Other than the few firecrackers still flying around and some confused students. You?"

"Nope, other than the firecrackers." She frowned, remembering what Albus had said. "Hey, can I ask you a personal question?"

He looked a little uneasy. "What kind of personal question?"

She bit her lip. "Look, I know that you probably don't like me," she said, and Nott shrugged.

"I don't actually have much of an opinion about you. I know that you and Scorpius have…" he stopped for a moment, and then said, "had words, but for me, the fact that you're pretty arrogant is mostly canceled by the fact that Al thinks very highly of you."

She ran her hand through her hair, and said, after a moment, "There's an interesting character recommendation. 'You're obnoxious, but my friend must like you for a reason.'"

"I just trust Al's judgment enough to think that if he likes you so much, there must be a reason for it," Nott said. "So, what's your question?"

"Well, I bumped into them as they were going out to Hagrid's," she said, "and I was just curious, so I asked him why you guys don't trust Flint and Parkinson. And, well, Malfoy started babbling something about blood traitors, and when I was confused, Albus said that you both think they see you as blood traitors. And I was just wondering…" she trailed off, not sure how to end it.

"Why?" he asked. When she'd nodded, he sighed. "That's actually not all that personal. They'd probably tell you if you asked. Well," he checked himself, "maybe not _you,_ but most people."

"So… why?" She was trying very hard not to say that this new information went counter to everything she knew about either of their families.

He seemed to know what she was thinking, anyway, and sighed again. "I know that you probably don't see this, but not everyone in Slytherin house is the same."

"Well, duh," she said. "Al would never run off and be friends with that Parkinson creep."

He shook his head, as though she were missing the point. "Rose—I'm not explaining this very well. I'd say ask Scorpius or Albus, but Scorpius would probably take the chance to either try to jinx you or insult you, and I don't think Al would appreciate being a messenger owl."

"Fair enough," she said. "I'm trying to follow, I really am."

"Yeah. I know." He sat down on a step. "We should really be patrolling," he said, half-heartedly.

She shrugged. "Five minutes won't hurt anyone."

"Yeah. Okay, look. You're from this heroic, wholesome family. They were all fighting against Voldemort from the day he returned. Your parents and your uncle are about the biggest war heroes there are."

"So?"

"So… well, maybe in your family, people haven't changed so much. You know? I mean, they were _always_ on the right side. They didn't really need to change. People like Parkinson and Flint? They were on the wrong side then, and the only reason they're not _still_ on it is that there isn't someone leading it."

"And your family, and Malfoy's family…" she prompted, when he paused.

"Scorpius can tell you about his family if he likes. I'm just going to say that his father was _young_ when he supported Voldemort, really young, and people change. That's what happened. He's not that kind of person at all."

"You know him well enough to say that?" Rose asked.

"Well, yeah," Noah said, looking a little surprised. "He's my uncle. Did you not know that?" She shook her head. "Well, he is. At any rate, Draco _changed,_ it's as simple as that. And his mother… well, it's our mothers we're related through, but I doubt it was our mothers giving you pause in the first place, huh?" She shook her head, and he smiled. "Yeah, I thought not. You'd probably actually like our cousins. They're very poor Slytherins. They're completely lacking in common sense."

Rose smiled despite herself. "Probably."

"Anyway. As far as _my_ father goes… well, _he_ was never a death eater to begin with. I'm not going to say he didn't support Voldemort, because he did, to some extent, but… it's just not quite as straightforward as that."

"How so?" she asked.

"My dad… has never been very interested in being part of a big group. Mostly, he likes to do his own thing. My mom says he was always like that in school, too. On one hand, yeah, he did buy into some of the pureblood stuff. I'm not going to stand here—or, sit here, I guess—and tell you that anyone who supported Voldemort is pure as freshly fallen snow. But he wasn't a death eater, and he didn't like Voldemort's society very much."

She thought for a minute or so, and then said, "But I _still_ don't understand how that makes either of you blood traitors."

"Well, it doesn't, exactly," Nott said, "but we weren't exactly raised in households that were big on blood purity. It's one thing to have abstract aspirations for a pureblood society, and another to watch your classmates—even classmates you don't like very much—being tortured and killed over it. Some people had the stomach for it. Some people… didn't. At any rate, when I say that my father changed, I don't mean that he sat pent-up in his manor and just didn't actively go after muggleborns. I mean that he changed as a person, and he deals with muggleborns on a regular basis, and he does it just fine. I don't know how he'd react if I brought one home," he acknowledged, "but it's still a pretty radical change, no?"

"Yeah," Rose said. "It is."

"At any rate," he said, shrugging, "I don't care about blood status, either. I imagine that if I did, they'd welcome me in with open arms, whatever my father believes, but I don't, and neither does my brother." Then he grinned and added, "And, hey, Scorpius and I hang around with Al an awful lot, which would probably be enough to convict us all on its own."

"Why?" she asked, curiously.

"Well," he said, "the Weasleys are about the biggest blood traitor family there is, and most of you aren't even pureblood anymore. And Al's father hardly inspires fuzzy feelings in people who _want_ a pureblood society."

"I can't imagine why," she said, airily.

"Neither can I," Nott agreed. He got up. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes," she said. "Thank you. Is… are most people in Slytherin still into that blood purity thing, or is it just them?"

He sighed and grimaced. "Well, no. Not really. There _are_ other qualities important to Slytherin house, you know—resourcefulness, for one," he said, glancing at her, and she knew he was thinking about Malfoy's reaction to his red hair. "There's a pretty sizable splinter in our year that's really into blood purity, but our year is one of the worst. They mostly leave us alone, probably because we're better at magic than them and the prefects are on our side. But I wouldn't trust them for a moment if they had the opportunity to do something."

"Thanks," Rose said, feeling like it was a little inadequate as a response.

He shrugged. "Really, it's not a huge secret. They probably wouldn't tell you anything, but they'd tell almost anyone else. They're not shy about it."

"Yeah, well, still. Thanks."

"No problem. Back to patrol, then." He started to head back up the stairs.

"Hopefully it'll keep being uneventful."

He held up crossed fingers and grinned, and she did the same as he disappeared into the corridor.

Rose found what he'd told her to be very interesting. She hadn't really thought that Nott or Malfoy was big on blood purity; as Nott had said, they probably wouldn't have want to run around with Albus if they were, and Albus certainly wouldn't want to run around with them. However, she hadn't known that their sentiments were such that they'd be seen as blood traitors by the radical splinter Nott had mentioned, and she certainly hadn't thought that just associating with Albus would be enough to label them as such—though, now that she thought of it, it wasn't really surprising.

She walked along the corridors, occasionally peering into classrooms, absorbed in her own thoughts. She hadn't even realised her time was up until she caught sight of a clock on the first floor that read 8:45. Surprised that she hadn't encountered any rule-breakers, she made for the stairs at the end of the hallway that she could take to a shortcut on the second floor.

"Hey, Red," she heard only a few feet behind her, and jumped.

When she turned, Malfoy was standing there, smirking, clearly back to himself. "Scare you?"

She ignored her racing heart. "No." She didn't know why she'd been so startled; it wasn't as though there weren't ghosts that could pop up at random, after all, and it wasn't so uncommon for one to float through a wall and greet a passing student. She'd just been so absorbed in her own thoughts, and fairly sure the corridor had been empty.

"Thanks for giving Al the map," he said. "We didn't actually end up needing it, but it was still decent of you."

Something clicked. "You knew where I was, and you snuck up on me on purpose!" she cried.

He grinned. "Well, yeah, but I promised I wouldn't do anything but scare you a little. He said I'm not allowed to use it to look for you if I'm planning any kind of retaliation for this stupid hair." He shifted his weight and leaned against a wall. "Not that I know what he's talking about."

"I didn't turn your hair that colour," she said, for what she felt was the hundredth time. "I was with Al the whole time."

"Yeah, well, maybe you've got a time turner, or maybe you just passed it off to your adoring cousins, or, hell, maybe one of them took polyjuice potion and covered for you. I don't care. I know it was you." He raised his eyebrows at her, and she looked away.

"Why'd Albus take you to Hagrid's?" she asked, suddenly. "You said you didn't like him."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Nice change of subject there. And, no, I didn't say I didn't like Hagrid, I said he was a bad teacher. He's also a bad cook. Doesn't mean I don't like him."

"Oh." Rose felt that she'd spent a lot of time this evening not knowing what to say.

"Yeah. Oh." He ran a hand through his hair, and she giggled. He scowled and said, sarcastically, "I know, it's so hilarious, isn't it?"

"Well, what do you want?" she asked. "You didn't just come here to scare me, and I know for a fact that this isn't the fastest way to your common room from the entrance hall."

He took in a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. He was clearly steeling himself to say something. "I don't really remember everything I said when I was under the influence of that clever prank by Lily and your brother—"

"Oh, come on," she interrupted. "It was funny."

He paused, and then allowed a smile. "All right, yes, it was, and I was stupid for trusting the drinks. Anyway," he said, clearing his throat, "I _do_ think I remember starting to go on about blood traitors, and I wanted to make sure you knew that I wasn't calling you one."

She blinked, taken aback. "Oh, no, that's not what you were saying at all, and I knew it," she told him. "But thanks."

"Yeah." He paused again, and then said, "I might not like you, but it's got nothing to do with who your parents are. It's just that you're a bitch."

"Thanks," she said, dryly.

"Anytime." He frowned. "Well, then, what _was_ I talking about? I'm pretty sure I remember saying _something_ about blood traitors."

She looked down the hall, and saw no one. After a moment, she said, "Both Albus and your friend Noah Nott seemed to feel very strongly that you shouldn't be alone with some of the other people you share a dormitory with, and I was wondering why. You started babbling about how they hated blood traitors, and Al translated that as they saw _you_ as a blood traitor."

"Oh." He appeared to be processing that information. "That makes sense." He gave her a sharp look. "What's the matter, Red? Shocked that anyone in Slytherin could possibly be considered a blood traitor?"

"Not particularly," she said, coldly. "I didn't think that either of you were big on blood purity, you know."

"You didn't think we were actually considered blood traitors, though, huh?"

"No," she admitted. "I didn't."

"Well, we are," he said. "Look, Red, I know that you don't really understand it, probably because you don't even try, but there actually are good people in houses that aren't Gryffindor." She opened her mouth, and he added, "Or Hufflepuff. Or your cousins."

"I know that," she said. "I just think that the other houses are more self-centred and less brave."

He rubbed his forehead. "Okay, bravery isn't the only thing that makes a good person. Nor is it as important as you seem to think that it is."

"My mother—"

He rolled his eyes and cut her off. "Look, your mother is a war hero. We all know that, and that's just great." She glowered, and he held up his hands. "No, really, I mean it. She's a hero, and she's a good person, and yeah, she's incredibly brave. My father always talks about her with a lot of respect."

"_Really?"_

He closed his eyes for a minute. She was clearly trying his patience. "Yes, Red, really. And she deserves all of the recognition and honor and respect. But you know what? Not everyone was in a position to act the way she did. What about my father? You think he should have just _died?_ You think he _liked_ seeing his classmates tortured and killed?"

She didn't say anything. She wasn't sure what to say.

"Look, Red, I'm sorry, but whatever you may think of them, _I love my family._ My father did what he had to do to survive. I'm sorry if that doesn't live up to your Gryffindor standards, but it's true. And, by the way, in case you forgot, my grandmother lied for your uncle in that last battle."

Rose had, indeed, forgotten that.

"They did what they had to. They wanted to survive. They wanted my father to survive. And when she saw a way out, she took it."

"But—"

"Look," he said, "I'm not saying that my father's parents are exactly spearheading muggle rights campaigns or anything. Yeah, they're still a little prejudiced. My grandfather _was_ a death eater. I'm not denying that. But that's a small part of who they are, and they care about their family a hell of a lot more than they care about stupid blood purity. And you know what? If I brought home some muggleborn girl, my parents wouldn't care, my mother's parents wouldn't care, and my father's parents would bite their tongues because they want me to be happy." He stopped, breathing hard.

"Sorry," Rose said, in a very small voice. It felt as inadequate here as it had when she'd thanked Nott earlier in the evening.

He seemed to relax a little, and rubbed his forehead. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't come down here to get into an argument with you about Slytherin house and my family."

"Would you rather get into an argument about looking down my shirt and whether or not you'd rather kiss the giant squid?" she asked. "We could go with that, it's less awkward."

He made a face. "How on _earth_ do you find that to be less awkward?"

"Well, for one thing, it's not a matter of life or death," she pointed out.

"I don't know," he muttered. "I think I'd have to kill myself if I kissed the giant squid." She giggled, and he looked at her. "Is it the hair again, or what I said?"

"What you said, mostly."

He sighed. "I said something about the giant squid earlier, didn't I." It wasn't really a question.

"Yeah. You said that the giant squid wasn't preferable. I think you also told me that I was better looking than that Zabini girl, but that bit was much harder to follow."

Malfoy leaned against the wall. "Of course I did," he said ruefully.

"Is she really that bad looking?" Rose asked. She didn't really understand why Malfoy was so disgusted by Zabini; she was no Dominique, but she'd never struck Rose as especially ugly.

"Well, for starter's, she's flat-chested, her nose looks like she stole it from a toad, and her hair looks like straw."

"Flat-chested girls can't be pretty?" Rose challenged, and he rolled his eyes.

"No, I didn't say that. I mean, look at Lily. She's pretty." Rose raised her eyebrows at Malfoy. He looked absolutely appalled. "God, don't look at me like that. You _know_ that's not what I meant. She's _thirteen_."

Rose crossed her arms. "Oh, come on, tell the truth," she teased. "I bet you found me attractive when I was thirteen."

She was expecting him to deny it, and was therefore quite surprised when he said, "That was different, because I was also thirteen." Rose blinked a few times; she had no idea how to respond to that. He grinned. "If I'd known that it was this easy to shut you up, I'd have started telling you that before now."

"I'll get used to it," she said after a moment.

He acknowledged that with a nod. "Probably." The thought didn't seem to bother him very much. "Anyway, Zabini's just… creepy. Toward the end of last year, she apparently decided that she could seduce me into embracing my pureblood roots."

Rose frowned. "Really?"

Malfoy grimaced. "Yeah. Really. I was hoping she'd forget about it over the summer, but…"

"Why you and not Nott?"

He considered this. "Probably because she think Noah's more oblivious than me because he's a much better actor." He shrugged. "Or maybe she just likes blond hair better than brown hair, I don't know."

"Don't worry," Rose assured him. "I won't let it swell my head. It's not much to be told that you'd prefer me to a large nautical creature and a creepy girl with a squashed nose."

He looked at her for a moment, and then said, "You know, you're occasionally almost tolerable."

"Gee, thanks. That's two great character recommendations tonight," she said, rolling her eyes.

"What was the first?" he asked interestedly.

"Nott told me that he didn't hate me because while I _was_ arrogant, Albus did like me."

He sniggered. "Yeah, that's about what he thinks." He looked at his watch. "I should get back to the common room. I don't need a detention."

"Yeah, so should I," she said. "I've got a lot of work to do for tomorrow." She groaned. "Double history of magic tomorrow."

"You had to remind me?" he asked.

"Maybe I'll use a snackbox," she said, thoughtfully.

"Aren't you a prefect?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It's an awful class, you know it is. Anyway, as long as I don't ask too often, I can usually convince Lucy to give me her notes from fifth year."

Malfoy looked surprised. "Your cousin still _has_ her notes from fifth year?" When Rose nodded, he shook his head. "No wonder Andrew thinks that she's so terrific."

Rose was still deliberating about whether to skip the class. "Maybe it's not even worth a snackbox. You think he'd notice me missing?"

Malfoy shrugged. "Probably not, but if you're skiving off, Albus will, and I'm not sitting through an hour and a half without him. I can't play hangman by myself, and Noah is too busy paying attention. And Binns might notice if three of us are gone."

Rose sighed. "Waste of a snackbox."

"Oh, please, you can get more."

"True." She headed for the stairs. "Night."

"Hey, Red?" he called. She looked back. "I'm still going to get you back for this ridiculous hair, even if you are occasionally almost tolerable."

She shrugged. "Good luck," she said, touching her necklace.

He paused, and then said, "You know, I'd prefer you to a lot of girls. Shame about the personality, though. Otherwise, I'd quite fancy you." The lights were dim, but she could swear his face was a little flushed.

She rolled her eyes. "And there's my third character recommendation of the night. 'No, no, it's not your looks, those are fine, your personality is just too awful to bear.'"

His laughter followed her up the stairs.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to H0RR0Rheart, Marciabarcia, B, aleksaluckygirl, ErinFabu, and ilovepercabeth for their reviews on last chapter back when I was first writing this. I really appreciated them. :)_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will consider leaving a review! Thanks for reading!_


	13. The Room of Requirement

The Room of Requirement

The only reason Rose woke up the next morning was that she was literally pulled out of bed.

She had been up until the crack of dawn finishing her schoolwork, and when the other girls in her dorm had begun to move around only a few hours after she had fallen into bed, she'd pulled her pillow over her head and decided to ignore them. It wasn't a good plan, but she'd been pulling it off until Roxanne stuck her head in and, upon seeing that Rose was still in bed, had taken out her wand and unceremoniously dumped Rose out of her bed and onto the floor.

She was blearily eating a piece of toast and hoping that Lily and Hugo hadn't done anything to the breakfast when the post came. Godric swooped down to land in front of her. When she'd relieved him of his letter, he helped himself to her toast.

_Rosie,_

_Good news! I've got the entire weekend free!_

_And you're on notice. You can never again complain that I don't love you. There's a football game that overlaps with your match, and I'm coming to your match instead. Tell Lily a quick capture would be great, because then I could probably still make kickoff, but you're my first priority. How does that feel?_

Rose almost snorted her orange juice out of her nose. Seeing her reaction, James and Albus leaned over and began to read over her shoulder.

_The dragons are great. I may be a bit more singed than you remember, but I'm not complaining. Deciding to work with dragons was the best decision I ever made. (… maybe second best.) Hint, hint._

_All my love to everyone!_

_Dominique_

When James and Albus pulled back, she refolded the letter and stroked Godric's feathers. He nibbled her fingers before taking flight, leaving her with an empty plate.

"Football," James said, shaking his head. "What kind of witch is she?"

"Who's that from, Dominique?" Roxanne asked. She was sitting across the table between Tyler and Marion, the former of whom looked almost as groggy as Rose had felt prior to getting the letter and the latter of whom was actually asleep with her head on Roxanne's shoulder. Rose wasn't especially surprised by their exhaustion; they'd been up almost as late as she had.

"Yep," Rose said, pouring herself some tea and feeling especially gratified toward whoever it had been who first discovered caffeine. "She said she's coming for the whole weekend, and she's going to watch us play, even though that it overlaps with one of her football matches."

"I don't understand her sometimes. Who could even think about choosing _football_ over _Quidditch?"_ Roxanne yawned widely. The movement had disrupted Marion's head, and only a quick grab from Roxanne prevented her from falling onto the table. "But it'll be good to see her."

The movement woke Marion up, who looked around vaguely before pushing her plate away and putting her head down onto the table. "Wake me up later," she mumbled.

"I guess that's the trouble with spending your entire day doing pranks," James commented. He and Albus were the most awake of the six of them, but that wasn't saying much: James's eyes were puffy, and Rose doubted that Albus had actually opened his eyes completely since rolling out of bed that morning.

"What is?" Albus asked.

"You don't have time to do work," James said, rubbing his eyes. If the action had been intended to help him wake up, it didn't work: his eyes were redder, but otherwise he looked as exhausted as ever.

It was with a very subdued air that the six of them slouched out of the Great Hall.

Rose usually liked Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. However, when she was so exhausted, a double period of Ancient Runes and a period of Arithmancy immediately after it was pure torture. By the time Rose got to Care of Magical Creatures the next day, she was ready for the day to be over, and it wasn't even lunch yet.

"Hey, Rose," Albus greeted her, looking far more awake and cheerful than he had at breakfast.

"Why are you so awake?" she asked shortly.

"I took a nap," he said, brightly.

Malfoy looked out from behind him. "I didn't get up until an hour ago."

She glared at them both for a moment, and then said, "I hate you both," before stalking away.

Rose didn't know how she got through the lesson, though she suspected that she'd slept through at least some of it. She knew she must have had lunch, because her stomach was not complaining at her, but could not for the life of her remember anything about it. She perked up a little for Charms, but when time came to go to History of Magic, she felt like death might be preferable to sitting inside the hot stuffy classroom for an hour and a half.

It did feel like a waste of a snackbox, so rather than using one, she just didn't go, instead climbing the stairs and wandering down the hallway to the room of requirement. Once in front of it, she paced back and forward several times.

After the third pass, the door materialized, and she opened it. There were several chairs remarkably similar to those in the Gryffindor common room. On the table next to one of the chairs was a cup of black tea, and she could see the steam rising above the mug. She smiled and sank into the chair.

She'd been sitting there for about ten minutes, enjoying her tea, when the door opened. She jumped, and was glad she'd had enough to drink that the liquid didn't slosh over the rim.

"I thought you'd be here," Al said. Malfoy appeared behind him, and he closed the door softly.

"I should give you both detention," she said, taking another sip of her tea.

"For what? Skipping class with you?" Albus asked, sitting down.

Malfoy did not sit down. Instead, he walked around the room, clearly interested in it. "This is the room of requirement?" Albus nodded. "Not much, is it?"

Rose was too exhausted to respond, but Albus, who had clearly enjoyed his nice long nap after breakfast, said, "Well, no, not _now,_ because it turns into what you want. Rose wanted her cozy little room and some black tea."

He looked at her. "This is a frequent thing for you?" She shrugged, and he seemed to take that as a yes. "Guess being an overachiever isn't easy."

"I'm not an overachiever," she told him, taking another sip and putting the empty cup on the table. It instantly refilled itself, but she left it there. She was feeling more awake, and it wouldn't be any good if she just got jittery from the caffeine. Better to wait ten minutes.

"So," Malfoy said, now on the other side of the room, "it _could_ turn into other things?"

"Yeah," Albus told him. "It _has_ turned into other things. This one time, last year, when Dominique was still here, Fred and Victoire snuck in and we had a nice family get-together one night. The room was much bigger then."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "About how many school rules did that break?" he asked.

"Well," Albus told him, "probably more because they used polyjuice to turn into James and Dominique, in case they were seen."

"Huh. That's… interesting." Malfoy was kneeling on the floor, peering into one of the corners. "Hey, is this wall singed over here, or is that just me?"

"No." Albus was watching his friend explore the room with some amusement. "It's singed, it's always singed, but we have no idea where it came from. It's been like that since Teddy went here, at least."

Rose started to feel the full-on exhaustion start to fade into an exhaustion that actually allowed her to stay awake.

"So, you just have to ask it for what you want, and it gives it to you?"

"Within reason," Albus said. "I mean, it can't do food."

"It gave Red tea," Malfoy said quickly.

"Tea doesn't count," she said. "It's water, not food. You can get water out of nothing. You just can't do that with food."

"Ah." He continued prowling around the room, clearly very interested despite the fact that in this particular state, the room itself was not very interesting. She supposed her reaction would probably be different if she was only just discovering it.

Albus looked at her, suddenly. "Hey, did Alex end up asking you to go with him to Hogsmeade our first weekend last night? I heard him talking to Damien about it before Transfiguration started yesterday." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Malfoy look over at Albus sharply, but couldn't understand why.

"Where was I?" she asked. "I sit next to you in Transfiguration, and I didn't hear that."

He shrugged. "Probably on your way from Arithmancy. You hadn't gotten there yet. Well, did he? Was that what he was talking to you about just before dinner?"

Malfoy resumed looking around the room, but she got the impression he was listening very closely. She still didn't understand what was all that interesting.

"Yeah," she said. "So?"

"What did you say?" Albus asked, leaning forward. "I'm curious."

Rose just stared at him dumbly. "Al, you _know_ we're all planning to spend that day together. I'd already written to Dominique to ask if she could come. And, anyway, the day before that's my birthday. I like Alex, and he's nice and all, but I want to celebrate my birthday with my family. Everyone's going to Hogsmeade, it's not as though he'll be alone there."

She could see Malfoy put his hand over his face. From the way his shoulders were shaking, she suspected that he was laughing. She waited for him to say something, but he clearly decided it wasn't worth it.

Albus was staring at her. "Rose," he said, slowly, "you do realise what he was asking you, right?"

"Yeah, to join them in Hogsmeade," she said, starting to get irritated, "and I said I was spending the day with my family. I don't see what the big deal is. Sometimes I go with them and sometimes I don't."

"Rosie, did he actually say 'us,' or did he say 'me'?" Albus asked, clearly perturbed, and Malfoy's eyebrows were raised higher than she'd ever seen them.

She thought back. "'Me,' I think. So?" Albus and Malfoy just stared at her, and after a few moments, something clicked. "Oh! He was asking me out?"

Albus blew out a breath and looked beseechingly up at the ceiling, and Malfoy finally came over and sunk into a chair.

"You know something, Red?" he said, suddenly. "I owe you an apology." She and Albus both looked at him, startled, and he continued, "Maybe you're too thick to be guilty of half of the stuff I've accused you of."

Rose glared at him. "I don't get what the big deal is. I wouldn't have said yes, anyway."

"Why not?" asked Malfoy.

Albus was looking as though Malfoy deciding to participate in the conversation was not somewhere he had really intended it to go.

"I'm just not interested," she said.

"What, are you just too good for anyone in this school?" Malfoy asked.

Albus looked even more uncomfortable, but as he opened his mouth to say something, Rose said, "No, I'm just not interested in Alex Finnigan."

"Well, then, who _are_ you interested in?" Malfoy pressed, and Albus stood up.

"We are not having this discussion," he snapped.

"Why not?" Malfoy asked.

"Because we aren't," Albus said. "And you lied to me."

Rose looked from one of them to the other. She felt vaguely curious, but was too exhausted to care enough to actually try to figure it out.

Malfoy swallowed and suddenly became very interested in the red throw rug in from of his chair. "It wasn't a lie. Exactly."

Albus sighed. "I hate you both sometimes, you know that?"

Rose picked up her mug. She was too tired to understand what was going on, and she needed more tea if she was going to get through defense against the dark arts and get some work done before dinner.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to H0RR0Rheart, SawyerSmile, loverofbooks20, ErinFabu, SlytherinPrincessxXx, and Little Miss Sunshine for the reviews back when I first wrote last chapter!_

_I hope you're continuing to enjoy it, and I would love it if you'd be so kind as to leave me a review! :)_


	14. The Patronus Charm

The Patronus Charm

By the time Rose had finished her tea, Albus and Malfoy had exhausted their stock of complaints about Binns and had started in again on Trelawney.

She got up, feeling significantly more energetic than she had when she'd entered the room. "We should get to Defense Against the Dark Arts," she told Albus.

Malfoy had his head cocked to the side and was scrutinizing her. When she tried to stare him down, he smiled and looked away.

Rose frowned. He had a good profile. She had the strangest feeling of déjà vu, but she couldn't recall a time that she'd had reason to notice Malfoy's profile before.

"What would you do without caffeine?" Albus asked, who clearly hadn't noticed anything.

She shrugged. "Unlike some people," she said, loftily, "I actually signed up for difficult electives." She headed for the door, and the boys both followed her.

"Hey," Malfoy said as they entered the hallway, "I'll have you know that Muggle Studies is plenty hard. Do you know the weird things they do rather than use magic?"

"Yes," she told him. "They use elevators and telephones and airplanes."

"See," he replied, "how do you keep that straight? I'm always confusing elevators and escalators and on a bad day I don't even remember what the proper word is and end up calling them aggravators."

Albus laughed. "I _should_ be able to keep it straight. My father can. I try to block out visits to uncle Dudley's, though, when at all possible."

Rose flipped her hair over her shoulder and said in what Roxanne referred to as her arrogant voice, "Well, _my_ grandparents _are_ muggles."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Sorry some of us weren't granted the same opportunities in life."

When they reached the staircase, Rose felt the caffeine hit her. She'd tried to avoid drinking enough quickly enough to give her the jitters, but she obviously hadn't been very successful – she was positively giddy.

Malfoy continued on down the stairs after she and Albus turned off at the first floor. She couldn't help but giggle, though it made Albus give her a strange look. Malfoy's hair still looked so ridiculous.

As Rose and Albus hurried down the hall, she felt awake enough to be curious about his conversation with Malfoy in the room of requirement, but too excited to pay much attention to it.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of Rose's favourite classes.

As they slid into their seats, she caught her breath.

Professor Goldstein, standing at the front of the classroom, had his wand trained on a silvery hawk that was soaring around the classroom. After a few moments of everyone watching the hawk's path, he raised his wand, and the hawk faded away.

He looked down at the class, who were all staring at him, completely transfixed. Professor Goldstein had rarely needed to call any class Rose had ever had with him to order; his lessons tended to be so exciting that no one wanted to miss a moment of them.

"The Patronus Charm," he said, and several people let out "ooo"s. "Now, that's typically N.E.W.T. standard, but some of you will be done with Defense Against the Dark Arts at the end of this year, and I don't want to send any student out there who can't defend against a dementor attack."

The class was listening raptly. Dementors were bad news, and everyone knew it. The class had covered dementors at the end of the previous school year, and Goldstein had mentioned the Patronus Charm then. Everyone had been very disappointed when they realised that they wouldn't be learning it.

Rose remembered overhearing Victoire talking to her uncle Harry over the summer about increases in dementor attacks. Rose wondered if that spike had inspired this, or if it was just something Goldstein always did.

She felt excitement building. She'd always wanted to learn to create a Patronus.

"Now," Professor Goldstein asked, "who can tell me what a Patronus is?"

Rose shot her hand in the air.

"Ms. Weasley?"

"It's a protector. It shields you from the dementors, and if it's powerful enough, it can force them away."

"Excellent. Five points to Gryffindor. What form does a Patronus take?"

Rose raised her hand again, but Daniel was quicker.

"Mr. Macmillan?"

"The form of a corporeal Patronus is unique, based on the wizard who conjured it," he said.

"Exactly. Take five points for Hufflepuff. A corporeal Patronus has the ability to force dementors away. An incorporeal Patronus, which is where every wizard starts, may hold dementors at bay for a time, but only for a time." He surveyed the class, and asked, "What conditions may make it more difficult to produce a Patronus?" Natalia thrust her hand in the air. "Ms. Jordan?"

"The more dementors there are, the more difficult it is to conjure a Patronus."

Goldstein nodded. "Precisely. Five more points to Hufflepuff. You'll be learning to cast this charm without any dementors, and you should keep that in mind. What else? Mr. Finnigan?"

"Well, it's sort of like Talia said, but your emotions. If you're unhappy, it's harder to produce one."

"Take another five for Gryffindor. Why is that?" Albus put his hand up. "Mr. Potter?"

"Well, to conjure a Patronus, you need to have a happy memory," Albus said. "If you're already feeling sad about something, you're going to have a harder time finding one."

"Five more points to Gryffindor." Goldstein paused and surveyed the class. His face was serious. "I want you all to think for a few moments. Find a happy memory, a strong one. You need a powerful memory to fight off dementors."

Rose looked around at her classmates, who were clearly deep in thought.

The elation was building in her. She wanted to do this, she wanted to get to the spell. She knew that if Goldstein would just let them try to cast it already, she would be able to. She had happy memories. She had a million happy memories. Her exhaustion had faded away. She was ready.

After a few minutes, which she spent fidgeting, Goldstein clapped his hands. "I hope you all have a happy memory. If you don't manage anything today, don't get discouraged; this is highly advanced magic, and it can be very difficult to master."

He made them repeat the incantation after him several times, and then told them they could start practicing. As he headed toward Colleen and Daniel, who were muttering the incantation and getting nothing, Rose raised her wand.

She thought of her fifteenth birthday party, and being surrounded by the people she loved. She thought of their smiles and the homemade cake, and of the little gifts that had all clearly been chosen so carefully, and she felt her eyes tear up. Her body was tingling; it was all she could do to keep from laughing.

"Expecto Patronum!" she cried, and an enormous shape blossomed from the tip of her wand. Everyone turned, and after a moment, she realised that it was a lioness.

"Excellent, Ms. Weasley!" said Professor Goldstein, hurrying over. "Twenty points for Gryffindor."

Rose waved her wand, and the lioness flew through the air. She kept waving it, back and forth, watching the big cat's progress, and started to laugh. The laugh quickly became hysterical, and as she sank onto the seat, the Patronus vanished.

"Rose?" Albus put his hand on her shoulder. "Rose, are you okay?"

She wanted to get up, to hug him, to tell him he was one of the best people ever. She wanted to find Hugo and Lily and James and Roxanne and tell them that. She wanted to apparate illegally and tell her parents and Fred and Dominique and all of her aunts and uncles and grandparents how much she loved them. She even wanted to track down Malfoy and tell him that without the red hair, he was actually quite attractive, especially when he wasn't sneering. She was feeling uncharacteristically magnanimous.

The only trouble with all of those plans was that she couldn't stop laughing.

She was vaguely aware of Goldstein saying something, and then of Albus leading her toward the hospital wing. Once there, she collapsed into a bed, and Madam Pomfrey bustled out.

"Madam Pomfrey," she heard Albus say, quickly, "we were in class, and she was fine, and then suddenly she was cracking up."

Madam Pomfrey bent over her. "Do you know what she's had to eat today?"

Albus sounded a little taken aback. "Um… I don't know. Full breakfast. Full lunch. A few cups of tea before class."

Madam Pomfrey said dismissively, "No, tea wouldn't do this." She pointed toward the door. "Out. I'll sort her out, don't worry. She'll be fine."

Albus took a step toward the door hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said, striding away from Rose. She heard a muffled conversation, and then Madam Pomfrey bent over her again, a goblet in her hand. "Can you drink this?" she asked.

Rose took it, still giggling, but managed to force some of it down. She could feel her eyes start to get heavy almost immediately, and after a couple minutes, drifted into unconsciousness.

When Rose woke up the next day, she felt extremely disoriented. This was not the first time she'd woken up in the hospital wing, but it was the first time that she could not quite remember how she'd gotten there. She had vague memories of Albus taking her there from Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she had no idea if those memories were even accurate. She didn't even know what day it was.

Most people would assume that it had been one day, but Rose knew better. She'd once spent three days passed out in the hospital wing after a nasty fall from her broomstick, and Roxanne had once been in the hospital wing for two weeks with a concussion, most of which she had no memory of.

Madam Pomfrey walked out of her office. "What day is today?" Rose demanded.

"Thursday," Madam Pomfrey said shortly. She disliked engaging Rose in conversations about the duration of her stay in the hospital wing, because she and Rose always seemed to have a very different opinion on what constituted "enough time."

"Thursday" told her nothing except that she'd probably been out a long time. Now that she was more awake, she distinctly remembered having a free period before Defense Against the Dark Arts, which only happened on Fridays. "How long was I out for?" she asked cautiously.

"Nothing you didn't need," Madam Pomfrey told her.

Rose tried to quell her growing panic, but she was fighting a losing battle. Just as she was beginning to really lose it, however, the door opened and Albus stuck his head in. "I won't upset her, I promise," he said. Madam Pomfrey gave him a penetrating look, and then walked back into her office.

He came over and sat down next to the bed, and she grabbed his arm. "Al! How long have I been out for?"

"You're feeling better, then?" he asked.

"_How long was I out for?"_ Rose was trying without much success not to hyperventilate.

He frowned. "Less than a day. Why?"

She let go of him and pulled her legs up to her chest, still breathing heavily. "You promise? It's been less than a day?"

"Yes, I promise," he said, looking bemused. "Why wouldn't it have been?"

"I came in here Friday, I remember because I had a free period before defense against the dark arts, and Madam Pomfrey said it was Thursday, and—"

Albus cut her off. "Rosie, you had a free period before defense against the dark arts because you skipped history of magic." She stared at him. "Remember? You were tired? You went to have tea?"

The rest of her memories came flooding back, and she gasped. "That _bastard!"_

Al looked confused. "What?"

"He put something in my tea!" Rose was livid. Albus glanced toward Madam Pomfrey's open door and shushed her. "I was too tired," she said, in a lowered voice. "I wasn't paying attention, he was wandering all over the room, he was behind me at some point, and he _slipped something in my tea!"_

Her voice had gotten both higher and louder again, and Albus shot a worried look at Madam Pomfrey's open door. "Rosie, keep it down."

"_He put something in my tea!" _She did not understand how Albus was not reacting more strongly to this fact.

He rubbed his forehead. "Probably. I wasn't thinking about it, either, if that makes you feel any better."

"He _poisoned_ me." Rose actually looked around for her wand, though she had no idea what she was planning to do with it, given that Malfoy was not actually present and that there was no way in hell that Madam Pomfrey would let her leave the hospital wing yet.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Now you're just being melodramatic. He did not _poison_ you."

In Rose's opinion, that was a very charitable interpretation of the events that had transpired. She sniffed. "That _bastard."_

After about ten minutes, Albus excused himself to go get lunch before his afternoon classes. A few minutes later, the door opened again, and Malfoy walked in. He looked very pleased with himself.

"I just saw Al go down the stairs," he said, sitting down in the seat her cousin had recently vacated. "How are you feeling? Everyone said you went hysterical yesterday." He shook his head in mock disapproval and actually patted her hand. "Too much caffeine, Red."

She snatched it away. "You _bastard,"_ she hissed angrily. "You put something in my tea!"

He looked like he was trying to hide a smirk, but his attempt failed miserably. "I don't know what you're talking about. You went loopy from too much tea and too little sleep."

"I was tired! That wasn't fair!"

Malfoy ran a hand through his hair, which had finally started to fade. Unfortunately, it had looked much better when it was actually red than the orange it had turned into. "Well, I told you I'd get you back."

Rose glared at him. "What was it?"

"What was what?" Apparently, her look was intimidating, because he slid into the chair Albus had vacated. "An elixir to induce euphoria."

"That's N.E.W.T. standard," she said quickly. She didn't think that she could have brewed that potion, and she liked to think of herself as being quite talented at Potions.

He shrugged. "I'm not stupid, Red."

If he had truly brewed an elixir to induce euphoria, she had to admit that that was true. He was, however, definitely a jerk.

"It took awhile to take effect," she said. "Why?"

"I wanted to be off having an alibi." She caught her breath, ready to scream at him, and he hastened to add, "If you put in a few drops of syrup of hellebore, it delays the effects."

"Oh." She frowned. "I guess that was smart," she admitted grudgingly.

"Almost cunning, wouldn't you say?" He was still looking altogether too pleased with himself. She glowered at him. "Hey, be nice. Goldstein said in class today that you made a Patronus."

"I _did?"_ she asked.

He laughed. "Yeah. You did. Apparently, being really happy does make it easier. I told him after class that I'd heard you been given an elixir to induce euphoria, and he said that it would certainly would make conjuring a Patronus easier, but that he really didn't recommend it in case of a dementor attack because you're likely to be unable to think straight afterward and they'd just come back and suck your soul out anyway."

"So, what you're telling me is, I was the first in our year to conjure a Patronus and I can't even take credit for it because you gave me a stupid potion?" she snapped, her disgust with him deepening.

"Well…" He drew the word out, and then admitted, "Goldstein also said that even with the elixir, it was impressive that you'd managed one on your first try."

Madam Pomfrey came out of her room and shot Malfoy a glare. "This girl needs _rest._ She's not going to get it if she keeps getting visitors."

"I'm really fine," Rose said. "I think I might go to class, actually." She threw back the sheets and made to get out of bed, though she knew Madam Pomfrey would never let her go.

Sure enough, the witch rushed over. "No, you will _not._ You will stay here and rest."

Rose looked mutinous, and Malfoy leaned over. "Oh, c'mon, Red," he murmured. "Just take the day off. Don't waste your time, she's not going to let you go, anyway."

She sank back into her pillows, and Madam Pomfrey looked mollified. "Five minutes," she warned Malfoy before going back to her office.

"I hate you," Rose said, though her voice lacked conviction.

He smiled. "Yeah. I believe that." She narrowed her eyes, wondering what on earth that sarcasm meant. "Look," he said, leaning forward, "you really _were_ exhausted. You're not just here because of that potion. Believe it or not, I did _not_ intend to put you in the hospital wing."

She looked into his eyes suspiciously. Either he was a very good liar, which was always a possibility, especially with a Slytherin, or he was telling the truth. She let out a groan. "Fine."

He held her gaze, and after a moment, Rose looked away. "Just relax," he said. "I'm sure she'll let you out tonight."

"She'd better," she said hotly. "I have double Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow _and_ double Potions. If I miss them, I'll turn your entire _body_ red. I'll turn you into a _snail._" She thought for a moment. "I'll feed you to the giant squid."

"But I don't want to be fed to the giant squid."

"Yeah," Rose said playfully, finally seeing an opportunity to regain the upper hand. "I remember. You have plenty of things you'd prefer to that, right?"

He leaned closer and said very softly, "You know, Red, you talk a lot about the fact that I think that you're attractive. Why is that, exactly?" She suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and knew that she had not gotten the upper hand after all. She didn't know if he saw the tension in her face or not, but he saved her from having to find an answer. "Just curious." He kissed her on the cheek. "Feel better, Rose." He straightened up and commented, "You know, it's nice to end an interaction with you and have your face be bright red, not mine," before turning and leaving the hospital wing.

When the door closed, Madam Pomfrey emerged, and Rose drank the goblet she was carrying. As she lay down and felt sleep begin to overtake her, she was fully aware that Malfoy had been right. Her cheeks were burning.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to Loony Luvgood1, Little Miss Sunshine, H0RR0Rheart, SawyerSmile, Luvskittles35, loverofbooks20, ErinFabu, and MaryandMerlin for the reviews when I first posted last chapter. They made me very happy! :)_

_As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review. :)_


	15. The Hospital Wing

The Hospital Wing

Rose awoke with a start a few hours later at the sound of the door opening and voice arguing. "She needs _rest,_ Mr. Potter."

Rose opened her eyes and sat up quickly. "No, I'm fine," she protested. "I want to see him."

After a brief argument in which James used his most winning smile and cited deep concern for a family member as a reason that he really should be allowed to see his cousin, Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue before turning and going back into her office.

James came over and sat down. He took out his wand, pointed it toward the office, and said, "Muffliato!"

Rose and James had discovered the spell over the summer. When Victoire and Teddy had arrived for a visit, Rose and James had both seen them give his father a meaningful look. Hugo, Albus, and Lily had been absorbed in a match of exploding snap, and hadn't noticed a thing, and probably wouldn't have been interested even if they had.

When they were all supposed to have gone to bed, Rose and James had crept back downstairs under the cloak, and were standing in a corner of the room when Victoire and Teddy had sat down to talk with her aunt and uncle.

Her uncle had pointed his wand at the stairs and used the spell, saying that the five kids upstairs didn't need to overhear this conversation.

Rose and James had disagreed. It had been a _very_ interesting conversation. Victoire and her uncle Harry had talked about increases in dementor attacks, and her aunt had talked about increases in attacks by magical creatures as a whole. Apparently, dark creatures were far more of a problem than dark wizards at the moment.

This was not news to any of the four people actually participating in the conversation. Rose and James, however, had never heard it before.

They'd been up until past three in the morning discussing it. It wasn't until the next morning when they were sitting alone at the breakfast table that they'd realised how helpful the spell itself could be, and tested it out on everyone else to make sure it did what they thought it did.

"Who else has visited you?" he asked.

"Oh, Albus during lunch, and Malfoy for a few minutes. I think he wanted to gloat. No class this afternoon?" she asked.

"Nope," he said. "Roxanne would have come, but she's got Ancient Runes right now."

Rose shrugged. "It's fine." She put her head on her knees, and let out a groan. "James, get me out of here."

"Why'd you get all hysterical?" he asked. "So that Malfoy kid _did _get you?"

She looked up and wrinkled her nose. "Yep. Potion."

He rolled his eyes. "Want us to help you feed him to the giant squid?"

She giggled, thinking about the conversation she'd had with Malfoy. "No, it's okay. I think we'll just call it a ceasefire. For now." James looked almost disappointed, and she hastened to add, "I wouldn't want to commit myself to something I couldn't follow through on. I should catch up on work first."

He nodded. "A wise decision," he said sagely, and then a grin broke out across his face again. James never could stay somber for long, even for the sake of sarcasm. "Anyway, it'll be awhile until that red fades away completely."

"I know!" Rose said, grinning back. "It's so perfect. I thought it couldn't get worse that the bright red, but orange is definitely worse." She flipped her very messy and tangled hair behind her shoulder and winced when her fingers caught on a particularly large knot. "Nothing like _my_ hair colour."

"It does look like he's wearing a pumpkin on his head," James agreed.

"Hey," she said, as he reached into his bag. "I learned something interesting last night. Or, I guess the night before last."

"Oh?" he said curiously.

"Yeah. Apparently, some of the Slytherins see Malfoy and Nott as blood traitors."

James's eyebrows rose. He looked absolutely amazed. _"Really?"_

"I know! That was my reaction," she said. "But Albus, Nott, and Malfoy all told me about it." She related the conversations she'd had with them to him, and he was left with an uncharacteristic frown on his face.

"I figured they weren't pureblood maniacs," he said slowly, "given that Albus is friends with them and, come to think of it, given that they're friends with him. But I didn't think that they were actually thought of as _blood traitors_."

"I know. Neither did I."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then James said, "Well, I guess that if he's a git, at least he's a blood traitor git. Makes me feel a little better about Al being friends with him."

"Yeah," she said. "Makes me feel a little better about his finding me attractive, too."

She wasn't sure why she'd decided to casually slip that into the conversation, but James looked a little taken aback. "Seriously?"

Rose nodded. "Don't tell Albus," she started, and James laughed.

"You know, I love my brother, and I know that you love my brother, but it's a little funny how many things we say start with 'Don't Tell Albus.'"

"Tell me about it," she said. "I _do_ love him, he's a terrific person, but he gets all _disappointed _in us. If I want somebody to be disappointed in me, I'll tell my mother that I hate Slytherins."

Rose's mother was a proponent of interhouse cooperation, and was exceedingly unhappy that her daughter did not agree.

James sighed. "Some things you tell Albus. Some things, you just don't. Thankfully, he never has the invisibility cloak, so he can't overhear all those things that we shouldn't tell Albus."

"I don't think that he would," she pointed out. "Probably goes against his idea of fair play or something like that."

He shrugged. "Probably. Anyway, what am I not telling Albus?"

"Well," she said, looking toward the door, feeling absurdly as though she should double check that he really wasn't at the door, "I heard him and Malfoy talking the other day…"

When she'd finished giving James the gist of the conversation, he leaned back in his chair, frowning again. "Good to know the dislike I feel is mutual. Does he know you know?"

She started to run her fingers through her hair, but gave up almost immediately. It was hopelessly tangled. The thought occurred to her that she rather wished Malfoy hadn't seen her like that—but then, it hadn't stopped him kissing her, had it?

Then it occurred to her to wonder why on _earth_ she cared.

"Well, okay," she said. "Here's the thing."

"I feel like 'Here's the thing' is very similar to 'Don't tell Albus,'" he said. "It's said a lot, and something that Albus probably shouldn't know almost always follows it."

Rose grinned. "That's true, isn't it." She paused, and then repeated, "Okay. So here's the thing." He smirked, but didn't interrupt. "They wanted to study after class that day, and, well, I thought I'd go with them, you know? It was just before Quidditch practice." He nodded, and she continued. "And the quickest way to the library _is_ through that secret passage I was hiding in…"

His smirk grew wider. "So you led them through it."

"Yeah. I think Albus ended up being mostly convinced it was coincidence, but Malfoy… wasn't. He cornered me when I was looking for a book, and accused me of showing off. I told him I wasn't, I just wanted to see what would happen, and he said that was a stupid reason to do something."

"That's a perfectly fine reason to do something," James said hotly.

"Yeah, well, I agree," she said, "but apparently he doesn't. Anyway, I might have maybe baited him a little."

James raised his eyebrows. "Baited him _how?"_

"I don't remember what exactly I said, but it was after he said that I had no self-control. I said something like that he probably wished I had even less," she said.

His lip twitched, and she could tell he was trying not to smile. "Nice one. Yeah, Albus wouldn't be too keen on that."

"No," she said. "No, he really wouldn't. And, okay, there was this other time, the day we went to Hogsmeade? Well, he was looking at the map with me and Albus—it wasn't my idea, it was Al's," she said, quickly, and he shrugged.

"No, it's fine. I don't like the kid, but Al has a fair point. Marion and Tyler both know. Natalia and Annabelle know. If Malfoy won't tell, Al's got a right to tell his friend about it, too."

"We didn't tell him about the cloak," she told him. "He asked, actually, about invisibility cloaks on the Marauder's map, and we told him we'd leave if he asked anything more about them."

"Good. There was this other time?" he prompted her.

"Well, Al left, and so did he, but then he came back and tried to disarm me." He nodded, clearly integrating the new information with the short version she'd given him and Fred. "Obviously, he failed. Then we had a brief conversation, and it kind of ended with my accusing him of staring down my shirt and bringing up a few other things I'd heard him say to Albus about me."

"Was he?" James asked, the front legs of his chair thudding onto the ground.

"Was he what?"

"Staring down your shirt." He looked annoyed.

"I was guessing when I accused him of it, but his face went really red, so I think so."

James scowled. "Git."

"Anyway, whenever I reference it, his face gets redder." She neglected to mention his kissing her on the cheek. In retrospect, he was just trying to throw her off guard, and it wasn't going to work.

James nodded, slowly. "Okay, well, yeah, his being a blood traitor _should_ make you feel better about that. I thought he _hated_ you."

"Well, I think he does," she said. "Or at the very least finds me very unpleasant to be around. I'm pretty sure it's just about how I look. At one point, he actually said 'Shame about the personality.'"

She expected James to be even more disgusted, but he surprised her. He said, "Wow. That actually makes me feel a little sorry for him."

"Why?" Rose was not sure why that would suddenly make James feel sorry for him.

He ran a hand over his hair, and she hid a smile. She didn't think he'd ever grow out of messing up his hair on purpose. "Well," he said, drawing out the word, "for one thing, if he _does_ hate you, that's a very annoying contradiction."

"Have you ever had it?" she asked. "I haven't."

James shook his head. "No. I've known girls who were perfectly nice but too homely to be interested in, but mostly, if I really hate a girl, it doesn't matter _what _she looks like. She gets to be ugly pretty fast." He shrugged. "You know. You find things to dislike." She nodded, and he leaned his chair back again. "Which kind of brings me to my other… theory, I guess you could call it."

"There's another theory?" Rose sometimes felt exceptionally slow.

"Yeah, there is." He paused, and then said, "Well, the way he's behaving isn't actually consistent with his outright hating you. If I really hated a girl that much and still found her attractive, anyway, I would be avoiding her like the plague, not seeking out her company."

He ran a hand over his hair again, and she felt a rush of gratitude toward her family. She was lucky to have them.

"So what does that mean?" she prompted.

James sighed, and the front legs of the chair thudded back onto the floor. It occurred to Rose that if he kept doing it, he was probably going to break the chair. "Honestly? I think it means that his feelings about you are pretty damn conflicted. And yeah, that kind of _does_ make me feel sorry for him." He grinned, lightening the mood. "Not that that will actually stop me from going after him, mind."

Rose grinned back. "Of course not." She leaned over the short distance between the bed and the chair and hugged him. "You're the best."

He hugged her back. "Don't worry about it. It's not your problem unless you want it to be." She pulled back, and he leaned over and reached into his bag to pull out some sweets. "Here," he said, dumping them on the bedside table. "You must be starving."

She took a chocolate frog and opened it. Taking a bite out of the frog, she held up the card and choked. James thumped her on the back.

Rose coughed, and held up the card. James leaned in to look at it, and delight spread across his face. "I didn't know he had a chocolate frog card!"

She picked up the box again, and saw, printed in the corner, _Special Edition: The Order of the Phoenix._

It wasn't so unusual for them to have special editions, but she'd _never_ seen this one before.

She felt as though her birthday had come early. James seemed to agree, from the way he was rummaging in his bag for another frog.

"Sirius Black," Rose read. "Black is infamous for escaping from impossible places. Among them were Azkaban prison and a locked room in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Black was killed in 1996 defending his godson, Harry Potter, from Death Eaters."

James looked positively gleeful. Despite having never met James Potter I or Sirius Black, he quite idolized them. His habit of messing up his hair on purpose in the first place stemmed from his father offhandedly mentioning that James I had done that all the time in his youth.

She handed him the card. "You can have it."

"Thanks!" She opened another as he scrutinized it. "Hey, Rosie."

She looked up. "What?"

He showed her the card and pointed to two small notations in the upper right corner that she'd missed. "What do you think these mean?"

She frowned, and then felt a light bulb go off in her head. "It must mean first and second wizarding war. Hey, James!" He raised his eyebrows. "I bet these are out now because the Order was first formed about fifty years ago!"

He frowned, too, clearly doing the math in his head. "Yeah," he said, after a moment. "You must be right!"

"Were these in the package Fred sent?" she asked, going back to the box she hadn't finished unwrapping.

"I'm not sure," James answered, putting the card on her table and taking another out of his bag. "These _particular_ frogs were ones that we bought at Honeydukes. Now that I think of it, though, we got a lot of people _in_ the Order of the Phoenix from that package he sent us, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did." Rose held the card up to read as she bit off the frog's head.

"Who'd you get?" James asked, opening another box.

"Nymphadora Tonks," Rose said, smiling. She really had always wanted to meet Teddy's mother. "You know, we're going to get awful stomachaches."

James shrugged and continued unwrapping his second frog. By the time Roxanne poked her head in, they'd also gotten Fabian Prewett, Edgar Bones, Benjy Fenwick, Alastor Moody, Alice Longbottom, and Hestia Jones.

She pulled another chair up. "You guys are going to make yourselves sick. I'd better help you eat them."

As she reached for the first one, the door opened again, and Albus came in. "Are those the new special edition chocolate frog cards?" he asked.

"Yeah," James said, reading a card as he chewed. He handed it over to Albus.

"Emmeline Vance," he read, and looked at the death date. "Bloody hell, this is a little… maudlin, isn't it?"

"A bit," Rose admitted. "But it's cool, too, you've got to admit."

"Definitely," Roxanne said, passing another card over to Albus. "Take a look, Alastor Moody."

"Yeah, I got one of him, earlier," James said, and handed Albus a box.

Albus took it. "You know," he said as he opened it, "sometimes I wonder how exactly you manage to fit so many things into your bag. It seems like it's practically bottomless." He looked down, and James, Rose, and Roxanne exchanged quick glances. He pulled the card out. "Cool. I got McGonagall."

Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, and seemed taken aback to find both Albus and Roxanne there. "I didn't hear either of you come in."

They both shot a look at James. "We were quiet," Roxanne said.

She examined Rose, and said that it seemed that she was completely recovered. However, it was still well after seven by the time she let Rose leave.

As she walked down the corridor with Albus, James, and Roxanne, all of whom had elected to remain with her until she was discharged. Roxanne seemed to think that if they left, Madam Pomfrey might decide to keep Rose overnight after all, and Albus and James had agreed and reminded her about the large store of sweets they had in the dormitory. She was feeling distinctly more cheerful.

They bumped into a fifth-year prefect doing patrol duty on the way back to the Gryffindor common room, and she looked at them suspiciously.

"We're not doing anything, Claire," Albus said. "Rose was in the hospital wing. We were just keeping her company."

The girl's face relaxed slightly. "Sorry, Albus. Can you blame me for being a little suspicious?"

"Of this crowd?" He grinned. "Not really, no."

She smiled back and walked on.

A thought occurred to Rose as they reached the Fat Lady, she held James back after Albus and Roxanne had climbed in. "Hey, can I borrow the map and the cloak tonight?"

"Sure," he said. "Now?"

"Yeah," she said. "Now is good."

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to aleksaluckygirl, H0RR0Rheart, Little Miss Sunshine, Freedo, ErinFabu, and ncislover1111 for their reviews when I was first writing this. :)_

_Any reviews would make me smile, and I hope that you are continuing to enjoy the story!_


	16. Maps, Cloaks, and Nott

**Thanks to H0RR0Rheart, Little Miss Sunshine, ilovepercabeth, ErinFabu, ncislover1111, and sherbetgirl for the reviews!**

** Little Miss Sunshine: Yeah, Hugo hasn't been in the fic much so far. It's basically a combination of his not really having free periods (since he's a third year) and this just simply being a week where Rose hasn't seen him much.**

**As always, I would appreciate it if you reviewed.**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Maps, Cloaks, and Nott

Roxanne promised to save Rose some cake if she was quick about it, so after James had given her the cloak and the map, she slipped out. Slipping in a nook that looked like it had at one point held a suit of armor, she took out the map and her wand.

"Lumos," she whispered.

Lines began to appear and connect on the map, and as soon as it was complete, she started scanning the dots. She felt a sense of triumph when she saw that, just as she'd hoped, Malfoy and Nott were not in the Slytherin common room. They were in the library.

She was hoping that she'd catch Malfoy out saying something about her. She didn't know why it mattered to her. Maybe she just wanted something more concrete to explain why he was acting so strangely.

Rose walked into the library, knowing that it was incredibly unlikely that she would happen to walk while they were talking about her. If they had been talking about her at all.

She almost turned around. She might miss out on the cake. Her cousins and her brother might eat it all. They might not save her a butterbeer. And all so… what? She could try and listen in on Malfoy's conversation on the off-chance she could use it against him later? Was that even _why_ she was listening in?

This was stupid.

She walked along the walls to get to the table he and Nott were sitting at. The cloak made her invisible, not intangible, and she felt like bumping into someone might give her away.

As she approached, she slowed down so that she could step more softly.

They were just working. They weren't even saying anything to each other.

'Great,' she thought. While she was there, though, she figured she might as well wait around for a few minutes. Just in case.

Malfoy put an assignment aside, and Nott looked up. "Is that the potions homework?" he asked.

Rose thought that Malfoy looked a little uncomfortable. "Yes," he said.

"Wow," Nott said. He looked up at the clock. "So it's not even eight, and you're done with transfiguration, charms, muggle studies, _and_ potions? I should bother you about things you don't want to talk about more often."

"My marks are fine," Malfoy said. "I'd better finish up that drawing of bowtruckles, though. I think we're finishing them tomorrow."

As he started rifling through his papers, Nott asked, in a slightly lowered voice, "Did you give Rose Weasley something that put her in the hospital wing?"

Malfoy looked at though he was starting to feel very irritated. "It wasn't supposed to," he snapped. "It was her own fault she'd hardly slept in two nights, how was I supposed to know?"

Rose rolled her eyes. 'Gee. Maybe the fact that I was falling asleep all day should have tipped you off,' she thought sarcastically.

Nott shrugged. "Well, I guess now you're even, so you can go back to avoiding her like the plague?"

Malfoy's face seemed to tighten a little. "Guess so."

Nott looked down at his paper, and said, off-handedly, "How'd she look today?"

Malfoy didn't answer, and after a moment, Nott looked up. "Nice try," Malfoy said.

Nott looked amused. "It worked. If you hadn't seen her, you would have said, 'How would I know?'"

Malfoy exhaled, sharply. "Yeah. I guess it did. She was fine. Angry, at first, but fine." He pulled out his partially-completed bowtruckle drawing, and put his quill on the paper, but after a moment, he looked up again. "You know Alex Finnigan asked her out? For the first Hogsmeade weekend?"

Nott, who had turned back to his own work, looked up at him and shrugged. "I didn't, but it doesn't shock me. She's a popular girl."

"But she's so _arrogant._"

"Yep," Nott said, jotting something down. Rose thought that she could see the hint of a smile on his lips. "I tend to agree."

"She's an irrational bitch," Malfoy added, his voice getting a little more strained.

"Yep," Nott agreed, and the hint of a smile because a little more pronounced. Rose realized that he'd probably been trying to get this out of Malfoy all night.

Rose felt as though these sorts of insults should bother her more than they were. She felt affronted, certainly, but between her conversation with James and the fact that he wasn't calling her anything that would _really_ bother her, like cowardly, she kept her temper at bay.

"She walks around like she owns this school." Malfoy put his head in his hands, and Rose had to suppress a giggle at his hair. "She's such a _tease_. She does it on purpose, you know. She—"

"Yep." Nott cut him off. "It's called charisma. Must be why you like her."

"She drives me _insane,"_ Malfoy snapped.

Nott shook his head. "Not mutually exclusive."

"It should be." Malfoy put his head onto the table. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"Honestly?" Nott put his quill down. "I think that you find her both infuriating and attractive. Both are fairly reasonable. She _is_ infuriating. She's quite arrogant. She's exactly like Al's brother and the rest of them, and it's damn annoying."

Rose realized that Nott probably _would_ find them especially annoying, given his place on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"But?" Malfoy's voice was slightly muffled.

Nott sighed. "Well, Scorpius, as much as she irritates you, you clearly _do_ find her attractive."

Malfoy looked up. "She has a pretty face—" he started, and Nott cut him off again.

"Don't give me that," he said. "For one thing, it's _not_ just her face that you like."

Rose was pleased to see Malfoy's cheeks turn pink. She was starting to think that Nott was the type of person who wasn't typically willing to sugarcoat things. She could appreciate that in a person.

"No," Malfoy admitted. "It's not."

"Yeah. So don't try to sanitize it. Albus isn't here." Nott looked around the library, as if double-checking that Albus really _wasn't_ there. "Look. The first real conversation I ever had with Rose was the other night when we were patrolling. And, you know, I was expecting her to be insufferable, and she wasn't. I can see how people might like her despite all of those obnoxious characteristics."

Rose rolled her eyes. 'Yet another terrific character recommendation,' she thought.

"It was easier when I just hated her," Malfoy was saying. "If she hadn't come to the library the other night—"

"Oh, please. This didn't start when she came to the library. It just gave you an in. And you were going out of your way to bump into her this week even when every conversation you'd had with her had been nasty beginning to end." Nott gave Malfoy a disgusted look. "Give me some credit."

Malfoy looked away.

Nott continued, "Don't tell me you're not half hoping that she retaliates, so then you've got an excuse to talk to her."

"A little," Malfoy admitted. "It's just that I find it amusing."

Nott scoffed. "Yeah. You've been finding that red hair really amusing. And I'm sure whatever she thinks of next will be worse." He looked at Malfoy skeptically. "You know, Scorpius, I think you're hoping to gauge how she feels about you by the way she retaliates."

Malfoy was starting to look like he wished he was doing his care of magical creatures drawing, and Rose was blessing her decision to hang around, though she couldn't fathom what she could possibly _do_ with this information. "Not really. I'm sure her cousins will give their input, and she seems like a pretty vindictive person. She could be head over heels for a guy and make him sprout tentacles or something if she got annoyed at him."

Rose was suddenly very tempted to find a spell that would make him sprout tentacles.

Nott shrugged. "Still not hoping it?"

Malfoy groaned and put his head in his hands. "Maybe a little. Noah, this is really annoying."

"You know, if you really hate her, you should just avoid her," Nott pointed out. Malfoy said something indistinct, and Nott frowned. "What was that?"

"I don't really hate her," Malfoy said. "I just don't know how much I like her." He made a disgusted noise.

Nott looked at him for a minute. Rose wasn't sure if it was pity or sympathy on his face. Maybe it was a little of both. "Do you have any idea how she feels about you?"

"No," Malfoy said, "other than the fact that she likes rubbing my nose in my being attracted to her."

"Her cousins probably know," Nott offered.

Malfoy shrugged. "That's useless to me. None of them would talk even if they did know, and if she's talked about it, it's probably only to one or two of them. I don't get the feeling it's that important to her."

There was a brief silence, and then Nott said, decisively, "James."

Rose was impressed, but Malfoy looked a very taken aback. "_Really?_ You think?"

"Well, Albus is your friend, and she probably wouldn't want to admit to the eavesdropping."

"Yeah," Malfoy said, slowly, "but she still has a lot of other cousins. She spends as much time with Roxanne as with James, and she's always talking up a storm about her 'cousin Fred' and her 'cousin Dominique.' She snuck into Hogsmeade to see Fred, and she was too excited at the prospect of seeing Dominique for her birthday to notice a guy asking her out."

Nott snorted. "That was Finnigan?" Malfoy nodded. "Who'd she go into Hogsmeade with? And, while we're at it, _how_ did she go into Hogsmeade in the first place?"

Malfoy frowned. "I'm not allowed to tell how. Al's brother would kill me. I think she was planning to go alone, but I do know she ended up going with James."

"Look. She seems really close to a lot of her cousins," Nott said. "I just think that other than Albus, she seems closest to James. Depending on the issue, maybe even including Albus. It's possible she's just spent the most time with the Potters, I don't know. Maybe I'm just totally off base."

"No," Malfoy said thoughtfully. "I don't think you are." He looked around. "You're going to think I'm really paranoid, but I don't want to talk about Red again unless we're in our common room."

Nott looked completely bewildered. _"Why?_ I understand that she has a lot of cousins and I get that she knows secret passages, but we would be able to see her if she was here. She's not."

"Well, not _now,"_ Malfoy conceded. "She's probably only just gotten out of the hospital wing. But I think she has an invisibility cloak."

Nott leaned backward. "You're right," he said, flatly. "I think you're paranoid. Do you have any idea how rare those things are?"

"Yes," Malfoy said. "I do. But she and Al got really tense at one point when I mentioned them, and she changed the subject."

"I think you're being paranoid," Nott repeated. "But fine. Look, I know I probably don't need to say this to you, but don't do anything rash."

"Eventually she'll say yes to someone," Malfoy pointed out.

"Yeah. Well. Better to risk that happening than to have her say no to you."

Rose rolled her eyes. Typical Slytherin way to think.

"You're right," Malfoy said. "I don't know why this is bothering me so much."

Nott shrugged. "Doesn't shock me. Just… try not to dwell on it too much."

They went back to their work, and Rose turned and left, mulling over the conversation on her way back to the common room. She checked the map to make sure there was no one nearby, pulled off the cloak, muttered "Mischief managed," and stowed them both in her bag.

When she reached the Fat Lady, she said, "Venomous Tentacula," and climbed in.

"Where have you been?" asked her brother, as she joined her family in one of the corners and helped herself to a slice of cake.

"I forgot a book in the hospital wing," Rose said, holding up her bag. "Madam Pomfrey started fussing all over me, so it took me a little while to get away." She took a bite of the cake. It was good.

There was a lively discussion about Quidditch going on.

Roxanne rooted for the Falmouth Falcons for what she claimed was the sheer amusement value of their style of play.

Hugo had inherited their father's unfortunate devotion for the Chudley Cannons, and was convinced that they were finally going to start winning.

Albus and Lily both had a certain loyalty toward the Holyhead Harpies, born at least in part out of their mother's stint on the team.

James didn't seem to care about that. He and Rose both preferred the Appleby Arrows, though he had voiced regret on multiple occasions that fans were banned from shooting arrows from their wands.

Before she could get involved, however, James casually moved around the table, ostensibly for more cake. After he served himself, he took a step back and said, quietly, "Well?"

Rose looked at the rest, but they were clearly too interested in talking about Quidditch to even notice that she and James were not involved in the conversation. "You were right," she murmured.

She glanced up at him, and he looked a little pleased with himself. "I thought so. Well?"

Rose didn't have to ask what he meant. "I don't know. He's a git. It was definitely unsettling when he kissed me earlier, but that could have just been that he was, you know, kissing me."

He didn't say anything, and she looked up at him. His eyebrows were raised. "Yeah, you neglected to mention that part."

"I know," she said. "It was just on the cheek. I thought he was trying to get under my skin."

James shrugged. "Well, I'm sure he was. Just not for the reason you thought."

"He is intelligent and resourceful," Rose allowed. "And I guess he can be kind of witty." She wrinkled her nose. "This is strange and complicated."

"Yeah," James agreed. "Welcome to romance."

"I've already been initiated," Rose reminded him.

"You're in your fifth year now," he told her. "It gets different in a hurry."

"Great." Rose tried to push her hair back, and remembered how hopelessly knotted it was. She wondered, idly, if that had been a habit she'd initially picked up from James and Roxanne.

"This _is_ an especially strange and complicated situation, though," he acknowledged. "Just see what happens and keep being your arrogant, vindictive self." He paused. "Apparently, it works for you. Being arrogant and amusing certainly works for me." She giggled, and he ruffled her hair. "God, that's tangled. You'll be fine. Just don't go chasing after him, whatever you do."

"Why?" Rose asked, curious. "Not that I intend to."

James smirked. "Oh, I just think it's more fun to make them come to you. I guess that's the arrogance talking, huh?" She giggled again, and he jerked his head toward the others. "Come on, let's go represent the Arrows. You know, I still wish we were allowed to shoot arrows out of our wands."


	17. Impulses, Kisses, and Teases

**Thanks to sherbetgirl, ncislover1111, Little Miss Sunshine, ErinFabu, and loverofbooks20 for their reviews!**

** ErinFabu: I feel like I probably wrote some fanfic about something when I was a kid, but if I did, I never put it anywhere, and it would have been years ago. So for all intents and purposes, yes. I have written a lot, though—just not fanfiction.**

**As always, I appreciate any reviews! Input lets me know what I'm doing right and what I need to change next time around!**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Impulses, Kisses, and Teases

As Rose crawled into bed that night, she decided to take the advice James had given her. Maybe it was just the arrogance talking, but she didn't much like the idea of running after anyone.

She didn't know why she'd bothered to actually go to the library to eavesdrop in the first place. It wasn't as though someone being interested in her was a novel experience, though at this point she was seriously wondering how many people she'd just completely brushed by without noticing.

That wasn't something she was especially inclined to worry about, at any rate.

The next morning, Rose woke up early. The sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon, though the sky had gotten a little lighter. She supposed that there was only so much a person _could_ sleep, and her body had clearly reached its limit.

She took her time in the bath, glad that she_ had_ woken up as early as she had once she started to comb out her hair. By the time she was done and dressed, the sun had started to rise, though no one was in the common room yet.

She'd missed most of her subjects she had that day, but she'd gotten the notes from Albus and felt that she'd done a respectable job on the assignments. Her bowtruckle drawing was also finished, but she'd been too tired the night before to work on defense against the dark arts. She'd intended to finish it in her free period after care of magical creatures, but while she was up, she might as well do it now.

It wasn't especially difficult—Goldstein was mostly asking them to review what he'd taught them about dementors the year before—but it was time-consuming to do it thoroughly, so by the time she was scratching out the last sentence, several Gryffindors had already gone down to breakfast.

Rose went up to her dormitory to grab the books she needed for the day, and was on her way back down the stairs when she bumped in Roxanne.

"Morning," she said, cheerfully.

Roxanne smiled back. "Wish it wasn't," she replied, but she looked far more awake than she had Wednesday morning. "When did you get up?"

"Early," Rose said. "There's only so much a person can sleep." They climbed out of the portrait hole and headed down to breakfast together.

"Hey, where did you go last night?" Roxanne asked quietly, as they headed down the hallway.

Rose hesitated, but decided to come clean. Nott _had_ been right about James, but having opened up to him and after he'd helped her sort it all out in her head, she felt she could talk to Roxanne about it, too. "The library."

"With the cloak?" Roxanne asked when Rose paused, not sure how to continue.

"Well, yes." Rose looked around, but didn't see anyone. "I haven't mentioned it to you, but I overheard Malfoy and Albus talking earlier in the week. He…" she trailed off, not sure how to say it.

"Does he fancy you?" Roxanne had a tendency to skip right to the chase.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

Roxanne swept her hair back, and Rose caught herself admiring it. She was perfectly happy with her red curls, but she'd always loved Roxanne's braids. "I don't know," she said, after a moment. "I guess he seems too interested in you for someone who hates you."

Rose felt that this was very flawed logic. "You're interested in going after the people you hate."

"Yeah," Roxanne acknowledged, "but I don't have conversations with them, I just insult them or jinx them and go on my way." She paused, and then added, "I'm a bad person sometimes, aren't I?"

"Maybe sometimes," Rose allowed, "but I don't care, I think you're wonderful."

"Thanks. So, last night, you were, what, confirming that?" Rose nodded. "Well?"

"James said it wasn't my problem unless I wanted it to be and that in whatever case I shouldn't chase after him."

Roxanne grinned. "James was right." She put an arm around Rose's shoulder. "C'mon. Let's get some breakfast."

Rose was feeling better already.

When she got to care of magical creatures, she had nearly forgotten about the conversation she'd overheard. Her head was entirely full with the anticipation of Quidditch practice that afternoon.

Once there, however, she caught sight of Albus standing with him, and it all came flooding back. She steeled herself, and then went over to them, reminding herself that Malfoy had no idea she'd been eavesdropping the night before.

This time, she had no intention of tipping him off.

"Morning," Albus said.

"Morning," she replied.

"How are you feeling today?" Malfoy asked, a sardonic glint in his eyes. "Did Madam Pomfrey let you out of the hospital wing too soon?"

She smiled sweetly. "No. I was all for waiting for a kiss from Prince Charming, but she told me I'd better get going, I wasn't going to get any better than a frog."

He stared at her for a moment, and then said, "Oh, don't worry, Red. I'm sure there's someone out there even for you."

"Thanks," Rose replied. "Not sure I can say the same for you, but I guess time will tell." Albus looked at her suspiciously, but turned away after a moment, shaking his head.

She caught Malfoy's eye and winked. He flushed, but as he opened his mouth to retort, Hagrid starting talking. He shut his mouth and looked away from her, and she allowed herself to feel a small sense of victory. After the lesson, however, as she was dawdling behind the rest of class as they trooped back up to the castle, he dropped back to walk with her.

"Hey, Red." She didn't like the look on his face. It looked… mischievous. "Have you figured out yet why you like talking about it so much?"

She could feel her cheeks start to burn. "I like bothering you," she said. She managed to keep her voice itself cool, but she knew her face gave her away.

"Want to bother me a little more?" he asked, playfully.

Rose flipped her hair back and stopped. "Sure," she said. She had absolutely no idea what she meant by that. She had no idea what she thought she was doing. She had no idea why she was spending her free time interacting with Malfoy to begin with.

She knew she'd caught Malfoy off-guard when she turned toward him and saw his face. He'd clearly been expecting her to give some witty reply, or possibly just blow him off completely.

Rose moved closer to him and dropped her bag on the ground. His expression was about halfway between dazed and anticipatory.

"You know," she said, bringing a hand up to touch his hair, "this really is an awful color on you."

In other situations, he probably would have batted her hand away. She could tell that he didn't dare do it now, because he wasn't sure what she was planning to do and didn't want to risk missing out.

_She_ still didn't know what she was planning to do.

"It's your own fault," he said. "Next time you want to turn it some strange color, turn it green."

"No," Rose said, flatly, and then she paused.

"What?" he asked, clearly confused by the hesitation.

"Well," she said, lowering her voice, "something just occurred to me." Her fingers were still touching his hair, and she could tell that he was hanging onto every word she was saying despite himself. "Say I told you I'd either promise that next time, I'd turn your hair green, or I'd kiss you. What would you say then?"

He swallowed audibly. "I think I'd take the red hair."

"Really?" she asked, licking her lips. His eyes darted to them, and then back up to meet her eyes. "Are you sure?" She wasn't sure why she was doing this, though she _did_ know that it wasn't just about driving him crazy.

"Yes," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"But I'm so _arrogant,"_ she pointed out, dropping the hand from his hair to trail her fingers down the side of his cheek.

He shuddered. "Yes," he agreed. "You are."

"You seem to like me anyway," she pointed out, tracing his jaw line. He was clearly very tense, which she supposed wasn't shocking, considering the circumstances. "Or is it just about my body?" she asked, snaking her other hand around to the back of his neck.

"No," he said, his voice strained. "It's not."

Her finger moved from his jaw line to his lips. "Are you sure?" she asked, and dropped it to his neck.

He shuddered again. "Yes." He paused, and said, very reluctantly, "I don't know how much."

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "It seems to me like it's quite a lot, but maybe we should find out."

She felt one of his hands on the small of her back. "Maybe we should," he agreed.

Rose leaned closer. "Don't you have class right now?"

"I don't care," he told her.

"Should you really be saying that to a prefect?" she asked, pressing her body closer to his.

"Rose, I swear to god, if you're just doing this to tease me, I'm going to turn you _into_ the giant squid," he said sharply.

"But it's fun to tease you," she said. He opened his mouth furiously, and she kissed him.

She felt as though a colony of butterflies had been suddenly transplanted into her stomach.

He responded immediately and enthusiastically. His other hand came up to grip the back of her head, and after a moment, the hand he had on her back slid over and he wound his arm around her waist.

Rose was pleased to discover that he was actually quite good at kissing.

When she pulled back, she could feel her heart pounding. He looked completely dumbstruck. "I didn't think you were actually going to do that," he said after a moment, still breathing heavily.

"I know you didn't." She kissed his neck, and he groaned. "Decided how much you like me yet?"

"We could try it again," he suggested, and lowered his head to hers.

She put a finger on his lips. "Maybe," she told him.

"Maybe?" he asked, incredulously.

"Maybe," she repeated, and moved back to his neck.

He moaned. "I hate you," he told her, but his voice lacked confidence. Rose thought that perhaps part of it was because it was difficult to express confidence and moan at the same time.

"Now, why would you hate me?" she whispered into his ear. "Aren't you having fun? Didn't you want me to bother you a little more?"

She pulled her head up to look at him as he answered. "Yes," he breathed, and she bit his lower lip gently.

"So it's not really fair of you to hate me, is it?"

"But why is it _maybe?"_ Malfoy asked, desperately.

"Because I said so," Rose told him. "Don't worry. You're very enjoyable. I'm inclined to say yes. But we'll see." She brushed her lips against his again, and stepped back. "You should probably get to class."

He looked at her, glassy-eyed. "Class?" he asked, incredulously.

"Or a cold shower," she suggested, and blew him a kiss before turning away. "Like I said. Maybe."

As Rose walked up to the castle, she smirked. She was doing much better at following the advice James had given her than Malfoy was at following the advice Nott had given him.


	18. Desires, Amusements, and Skeptics

**Thanks to sherbetgirl, ncislover1111, H0RR0Rheart, aleksaluckygirl, Little Miss Sunshine, ErinFabu, SawyerSmile, loverofbooks20, and Kinisha Parkinfront for their reviews! As always, I really appreciate it.**

**Just a heads-up: I will likely not be able to upload a chapter Friday night.**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Desires, Amusements, and Skeptics

After leaving Malfoy looking as though she'd hit him over the head with a mallet, Rose went up to the owlrey to send Dominique her note. She considered adding something about Malfoy, but decided against it.

She still had some time before class started, and she was craving something sweet, so she stopped into her dormitory and grabbed a few chocolate frogs out of the drawer of her bedside table. The first two were normal cards, and she wasn't shocked to find, when she pulled out the cards, that she had both.

When she got down to the common room, Rose went up the staircase to the boy's dormitory rather than going out the portrait hole. The door to the third-year's room was open, and as she'd suspected, no one was inside. She put Herpo the Foul and Leopoldina Smethwyck on Hugo's pillow with a note, and went back down to the common room.

She was going to be early to defense against the dark arts if she left now, but she did not feel inclined to sit around the common room doing nothing instead, and if she left now, she'd probably catch the 6th years as they left class.

As Rose walked down the hallway toward the classroom, she caught sight of Roxanne sweeping around a corner, clearly talking to whoever was ahead of her, and felt a little disappointed. When she neared the classroom, however, she heard James' voice.

"But they _are_ different from dementors."

"Yes," she heard Professor Goldstein saying. "They're very different. A lethifold isn't interested in your soul. It just wants to consume your body."

"But then why is the Patronus the only thing that works for them both?"

"Well," Goldstein said, "the Patronus _isn't_ the only spell that works against dementors, just the most effective. I do understand what you're asking, though. My best answer is that while many of the creatures we'll be dealing with in N.E.W.T. are _dangerous_ creatures, lethifolds and dementors are the only two I think I would categorize as _dark_ creatures."

Rose peeked through the doorway, and saw James frowning. "So, what, you mean that even things like acromantulas and basilisks are dangerous creatures created by dark wizards, and even things like nundus are just dangerous natural predators, but that lethifolds and dementors are… evil?"

Goldstein nodded. "That's what I think. We don't have a definitive answer, James. I just know that I have faced, at one point or another, almost every creature we're going to cover, and that while they can all be violent and aggressive, only those two have struck me as _evil."_ He looked up and saw Rose. "Hello, Ms. Weasley. Feeling better?"

"Much," she said, coming into the classroom. "Thank you."

"Hey, Rosie," James said. "So, basically, you're saying that you think the Patronus can repel them both because it's basically pure good and they're the only creatures that are truly _evil_?"

"That we know of," Goldstein added, "but yes."

Rose waited a moment, and then asked, "What's a lethifold?"

"Really creepy," James told her.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a withering look.

"If you continue on to N.E.W.T. level, we'll cover them," Goldstein told her, "but in short, they're dark creatures that sneak into a person's house while they're asleep and consume them." Rose must have looked startled, because he added, "They're only found in the tropics."

"That's also strange to me," James said.

Goldstein shrugged. "It's not so shocking. For one thing, in the tropics, people are a lot more likely to sleep with the windows open and to have more airy houses in general."

James considered that for a moment, and then nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

"And the _only_ way to get rid of one is a Patronus?" Rose asked. Goldstein nodded.

She resolved to work especially hard to produce one that lesson.

"Are they doing Patronuses now?" James asked.

"Yes. They're actually having more trouble with it than your class did. Most of them didn't even manage to produce vapor on Wednesday."

"Oh, so that's why you wanted us to write about the memories we were using." Rose said.

James frowned. "You know, I have a free period now," he said. "If you wanted me to help."

The offer was not especially unusual. Goldstein was serious about defense against the dark arts, and when they were covering creatures, the lessons tended to be practical. She remembered James helping her class with boggarts one time, and she knew he'd done it with others. She remembered hearing that Victoire sometimes helped out, too.

James loved defense against the dark arts; Rose should not have been surprised to find him still in the classroom after everyone else had left.

Malfoy had either been exaggerating when he had ranted to Albus in the corridor earlier in the week, or else just very misinformed. Rose and her teammates did all tend to get good grades, but they were hardly top in every class. Over the summer, James had learned that he had the distinct honor of being the only person in his year to actually manage to get a T on one of his O.W.L.s. However, he _had_ consistently been at the top of the class for defense against the dark arts.

"If you have the time," Professor Goldstein said, "we'd appreciate it."

James nodded. "No problem." When the professor walked back to the front of the classroom, he said, "Looks like it might rain."

Rose looked out the window. It hadn't looked like that when she'd been leaving care of magical creatures, but it certainly looked like it now. She groaned. "We're going to get soaked if it does."

He grinned. "Yes, we will. Also mud-spattered."

Rose dropped her bag on a desk and was about to ask him about when they would be having practice over the weekend when Albus walked in. He stopped short when he saw his brother. "What are you doing here?"

James smirked. "Helping."

Albus grinned, and slid into the seat next to Rose's bag. "Let's see if you can make the Patronus without the elixir, Rosie," he teased.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and said, airily, "Of course I can. Don't be ridiculous."

He laughed. "I'm sure you can. Hey, I have a question."

"Yes?" she said, forcing herself to keep her face composed. She was sure it would be about Malfoy.

"Do you have any idea what happened to Scorpius? He was about twenty minutes late to class, and he seemed out of it."

Rose saw James' raise his eyebrows slightly before she looked at Al. "Did you ask him?"

"He said he was fine, and that he'd forgotten he had class. Which makes no sense."

Rose shrugged, and Albus turned to answer a question Daniel had just asked him.

"Tell me the truth," James murmured. "You do know what happened, don't you?"

"I have an educated guess," she muttered back.

"Which is?"

"Well," she said, covertly looking around the chattering room to make sure no one was paying attention, "I gave him a choice."

"A choice between what?" James asked, but as Rose opened her mouth to answer, Goldstein called the class to order. She slid into her seat.

An hour and a half later, she was consistently producing silver vapor, though she had not yet managed a corporeal Patronus again. She was gratified that no one else had, either, although most of them had managed silver vapor. James had clearly been an effective aid.

Albus had been complaining about being hungry for the last half hour of the lesson, so he immediately sped downstairs to lunch without waiting for them. Rose felt that this was probably a good thing.

"Bye, Professor," James called from the door.

"Thanks for the help," Goldstein called back.

"No problem." Rose followed him out the door, and as they walked down the hallway he asked, in an undertone, "A choice between what?"

"Well, he got annoyed when I made fun of his hair, and told me to turn it green next time. So I told him that he could choose. Either I'd promise to turn it green next time, or I'd kiss him."

She snuck a look at James, and saw him roll his eyes. "Oh, Rose. That was nice. Have you even figured out if you like this kid?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. He's kind of amusing. Do you really think that was unfair?"

"I take it he said he'd prefer to be kissed, and you did it?" James asked. She nodded, and he shrugged, too. "Hey, you gave him the choice. You didn't promise anything else, right?"

"No," she said. "I told him maybe. He wasn't pleased."

James laughed. "No, I don't imagine he was. Well, that wasn't quite what I was thinking of when I said that you should make him chase you, but I'm sure he'll be doing it."

"Yes," she agreed. "I think so. He _really_ wasn't happy."

James rolled his eyes. "You know, at this point, you really should be thinking about telling Albus something."

"What's to tell?" Rose asked. "He was teasing me, I kissed him, he… enjoyed it, and I told him maybe we'd do it again sometime and walked away."

"Well," James said, after a moment, "I probably wouldn't present it like that. You know, I don't get it. He's a git. _Why?_"

She frowned. "I don't really know. He's kind of amusing, and he's not bad-looking."

"If you say so," James said skeptically. "I still think he's a git."

"I thought you felt bad for him," Rose said.

"I do. Doesn't stop me thinking he's a git."

"Well, do you have any advice?" she asked.

"Well, since you apparently _want_ to keep him interested, though I don't understand why, keep being your arrogant, vindictive self, and occasionally… remind him… that he likes you."

"Has anyone ever done that to you?" Rose wondered, suddenly curious.

James snorted. "Me? No." The idea was clearly absurd to him. "I _get_ chased. I don't do it." He shook his head. "This is a weird conversation to be having with you. Don't you have any girl cousins?" he asked, but she could tell he was mostly joking.

Rose shrugged. "I mentioned it to Roxanne, but you're better at giving advice than her. And it's too awkward to put in a letter. I considered asking Dominique, but I didn't even know how to start."

James laughed. "Yeah, Roxanne usually has the subtlety of a bludger, doesn't she? And I don't know that Dominique is really the best person to ask, anyway. I don't really mind, you know."

"I know." They started down one of the side staircases. "Did you guys do anything Wednesday night, while I was in the hospital wing?"

"We turned the hallway in front of the Great Hall into a swamp while everyone was eating dinner," he said. "We each got a detention, and I got another for missing transfiguration Tuesday. I'm actually surprised I haven't gotten a howler yet. Maybe I'm off the hook."

She grinned. "You hope."

"Yeah, well. I got decent marks on my O.W.L.s, maybe they're going easy on me."

"James, you got a T," Rose said, laughing.

"Yeah, well, I also got three Os," he pointed out. "Anyway, there's nothing wrong with a good healthy T."

"If you say so."

They were on the next landing when he asked, "So, Rosie?"

"Yeah?"

"Why _Malfoy?"_

She laughed again. "I honestly have no idea."

Rose was in a very good mood when she left potions that afternoon. It was one of her favorite classes, and between the ruckus Tuesday and being in the hospital week the day before, she hadn't been in class yet this week. An hour and a half in the dungeon was exactly what she'd needed.

She'd nearly forgotten that they had transfigurations with the Slytherins until she walked into the classroom and saw Albus, Malfoy, and Nott sitting together near the windows. She steeled herself to do exactly what James had suggested, and walked past them to the front of the classroom.

She slid into the chair and, on impulse, pulled a chocolate frog out. She turned so that she was sure Malfoy could see her face. She pulled the frog out and bit off its head, and closed her eyes as she chewed, savoring it. She looked at the card as she ate the rest in several bites.

James Potter. It was an Order of the Phoenix card.

Rose smiled and put it in her bag, making a mental note to give it to James.

She turned in her seat. "Hey," she said, greeting the three boys. Malfoy had clearly just looked away from her, and she allowed herself to feel a slight sense of triumph.

"Good card?" Albus asked, seeing her smile.

"The best. I got James Potter." Al grinned, and she added, "I'll give it to him at practice."

"You have practice today?" Nott asked. "When? I thought we had practice tonight." He smiled, belatedly. "Also, hi, Rose."

"Hi, Noah. Yeah, I'm going straight from herbology; Slughorn's having one of his dinners, and he told James not to schedule practice, so we're having an early one. I was in the hospital wing Wednesday." She gave Malfoy a pointed look, and he grinned back.

"Now, who could have ever wanted to put you in the hospital wing, with your winning personality?" he asked, sarcastically.

She ran a hand through her hair. "Oh, I don't know. I've heard it said that I'm not so bad."

Nott shook his head, clearly amused, and said, "So, how's your class doing with the Patronus Charm? We just came from Goldstein's, and most of us are still having trouble making vapor."

"James sat in on our class," Albus said. "It actually really helped."

"Wonder why he didn't help out with ours," Malfoy wondered. "Maybe because the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws aren't worth it."

Rose glared at him. "No," she snapped, "I imagine it's because he's got double care of magical creatures after lunch."

Malfoy had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "Oh."

"Yeah." She smirked. "Maybe if you're still having problems Thursday, he'll help out."

Malfoy opened his mouth, but Nott cut in smoothly. "That might actually be a good thing. Goldstein mentioned that he wished he had help. I mean, he was going around the room, but…"

Albus nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure he'd do it, and James is killer at defense against the dark arts."

"I remember," Nott said. "Didn't he help us with the boggarts that one year?"

"Yep," Rose said. "He's always top in defense against the dark arts, and he likes helping." She was very proud of her cousin's proficiency. "Hey, Al?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to run up and get my broomstick after this. I'll try not to be late, but if I am, can you tell Neville I'll be along in a moment, and I'm sorry?"

"Sure," he said. He turned to Nott, and they started talking about Patronuses and what shape they thought their own might take.

Malfoy was studying her face. She licked her lips, and his cheeks got a little pink. "You're a terrible person," he said, very quietly.

Rose leaned in and said even more softly, "Don't you wish I was a little more terrible?" she asked, playfully.

"Yes," he said, darting a look at Albus and Nott, who were still absorbed in conversation. "But don't lie. You liked it."

"I did." Rose licked her lips again. "So maybe we'll do it again sometime."

He opened his mouth, but for the second time that day, he was cut off by the professor calling the class to order.

As soon as class ended, Rose left to go retrieve her broomstick. She wasn't surprised when Malfoy caught up with her just after she'd turned a corner. As she hurried into a secret passage, he said, "You know, I might get tired of this and give up."

She smirked. "It's been a few hours. I thought you had patience and self-control."

"I do. You're also driving me crazy."

Rose stopped. "Am I?"

"Yes," he breathed, clearly hoping for a repeat of the morning's encounter.

She moved closer to him, and put her arms around his neck. She could feel his hold on her waist as she leaned in and kissed his neck again. As she brought her lips up to his ear and nibbled on the lobe, he moaned. "Good," she whispered, before dancing out of his reach. He stared at her. Even in the dim light, she could see the look in his eyes, and she found that she liked it. "Be honest," she said. "You're not going to get tired and give up anytime soon, are you?"

He shook his head. "No."

Rose smiled as she turned away. "I didn't think so," she said, and for the second time that day, she left Malfoy standing dumbstruck behind her.


	19. Taunting, Shagging, and the Slug Club

**Thanks to sherbetgirl, CaptainSlow, H0RR0Rheart, ErinFabu, loverofbooks20, ncislover1111, scarhead, Loony Luvgood1, and Katie for their reviews! As always, I appreciate them.**

**Yes, Goldstein is Anthony Goldstein.**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Taunting, Shagging, and the Slug Club

When Rose was on her way out to the greenhouses after grabbing her broom, it was just starting to drizzle. Over the course of the lesson, the rain got progressively heavier, and by the end, it was a steady downpour.

"This is going to be fun to fly in," Albus commented as they were packing up at the end of class.

"Yeah, well," she said distractedly. "I promised James I wouldn't complain about practice this week."

"Why's that?" he asked, sounding curious.

Rose realized what she was referencing just in time, and thought fast. "They didn't make trouble for me the night I had patrol."

"Oh, was that why they didn't?" he asked. "That was nice of them. Did you hear about the swamp Wednesday night?"

She giggled as they left the greenhouse. "I did. Wish I'd been there for it. Anyway, I'll see you later."

"Have fun at practice," he said, and held out his hand. "Give me your bag, so you don't have to haul it to the pitch."

She handed it over. "Aw, thanks, Al."

"No problem. Hey, when you get a chance, I want to talk to you about something."

"What about?" Rose was only half paying attention, her mind already calculating when on earth she was going to have time to do her schoolwork. She had practice, and she knew she would need to squeeze in a bath before the Slug Club that night. She was also fairly sure that James had scheduled a long practice at some point during the weekend, and she had so much homework to do…

"Scorpius."

He suddenly had her full attention. "What about him?"

Albus shook his head. "We'll talk later. I don't want to get into it now. Don't worry, it's not a big deal."

Rose wanted to press him, but she didn't see how she could. She really didn't have the time. "If you say so," she said, and sped away, broom in hand. "Bye, Al! Thanks again!" she called over her shoulder.

It occurred to her after about a minute of sloshing around in the mud that just flying to the pitch would probably be significantly less of a hassle, so she hopped onto her broom.

It was significantly less of a hassle.

It also didn't end up making much different in how mud-splattered she was by the end of practice.

It always mystified her that they all managed to get covered in mud when it rained, even they were supposed to be in the air the entire time. However, with the occasional exception of Lily, it was invariably the case.

As they trooped back up to the castle, they passed the Slytherins on their way to the pitch. She felt bad for them. On one hand, the rain seemed to be letting up a little, but only a very little, and they were also going to have very little daylight left.

"Hey, Noah," she greeted him as they passed. "Good luck finding the snitch in this."

He wrinkled his nose. "I'm already covered in mud, and I have no idea how I'm going to see it in these conditions. Why am I on the team again?"

"Because you're good," Lily called out to him. She was bringing up the rear with Annabelle; Rose had heard them chattering about their new subjects a moment before.

"Thanks," he said, looking a little taken aback. "It still sucks to have to practice in this." Rose gave him a sympathetic look, and he smiled. "I'm really just complaining, honestly."

They both walked on. "Bye," she called over her shoulder, and he waved.

"What was that about?" James asked as she caught up to him.

She shrugged. "I patrol with him, and he's Al's friend. He's actually not bad."

"Yikes." Roxanne had dropped back to walk with them. "Don't tell me you're getting all buddy-buddy with the Slytherins now."

Rose snorted. "Hardly. Give me some credit. I'm just saying that he's not bad."

"In all fairness, he _doesn't_ seem so bad," James said, unexpectedly. Roxanne and Rose both stared at him, and Rose thought that she could see him rolling his eyes, though with the rain, she couldn't be sure. "Hey, I definitely prefer him to Al's other Slytherin friend. When he says a friend is coming to stay for a few days and it turns out just to be Nott, I breathe a sigh of relief."

Roxanne lowered her voice. "So, Rosie, wait a minute. You mentioned Malfoy this morning. What's going on there, exactly? It's only that we're probably going to see him in about forty minutes, and I'd kind of like to know before that."

Rose groaned. She had managed to briefly forget that Malfoy was in the Slug Club. "James, you tell her." She could feel her ears starting to burn.

"Well, he fancies Rose. It seems like he keeps understating it to pretty much everyone, probably because he also finds her to be incredibly obnoxious a lot of the time, but it's pretty clear to me that it's quite a lot. Especially with how he's been reacting to a little…" Rose could see him thinking about the right wording. "… attention from her."

"So, wait," Roxanne said. "Do you fancy him, then, Rosie?"

"I don't know."

"That means yes," James said helpfully.

"Thanks, James." Rose could feel her entire face getting red.

"Hey, you asked me to update her. I think that was a pretty good summary." Through the rain, Rose could see him pushing his hair back. In this weather, it wasn't just a quirk: it was completely plastered to his head.

She could see Roxanne frowning. "Well, so, I don't get him. If you fancy him, why don't you just pull him aside and—"

"Roxanne," James interrupted, "can we _not_ advise our fifteen-year old cousin to go off and shag some boy she's still not really sure she likes?"

"She doesn't need to _shag_ him," Roxanne said. "I'm only saying, it's the direct approach. Then you jinx him if you decide you don't like him after all."

"This is why I asked you," Rose murmured to James, and he laughed.

"What?" Roxanne asked, clearly confused.

"Roxanne, we love you, but you have the subtlety of a bludger," James said.

She grinned. "I guess I do, at that."

"Is that usually your response to fancying someone?" Rose asked, surprised.

"No," Roxanne said, laughing. "But then, I haven't really found many people to fancy, so maybe if I did, it would be. Anyway, James, don't be a hypocrite, that's usually _your_ approach."

They were just entering the castle, and in the lights, Rose could see James' face getting red. "No it's not," he said. "I'm not just going off and shagging every other girl who fancies me."

"Good," Tyler said. He and Marion had been waiting just inside the entrance hall. "You'd be shagging a lot of girls."

"You all need to shut up," James muttered. "I'm not discussing this with you lot."

Rose pushed her sopping hair out of her face. "Anyway, I'm not going off and shagging anyone."

"Were you planning on it?" Marion asked, interestedly.

"No!"

"Just curious."

"Anyway," James said, "hark who's talking. Marion, you _love_ having boys draped all over you."

"Yeah, well, I don't run off and shag them, I just appreciate the worship," she said, laughing.

"Well, how do you know I don't do the same thing?" James asked, clearly forgetting that he'd just decided not to discuss the issue.

"Allison Bones didn't seem to think you just appreciated the worship," Tyler said, snickering. "Actually, what she said—"

"Hey, Tyler," James interrupted, "want I should have a talk with Colleen MacMillan?"

"You wouldn't," Tyler said, but his voice lacked conviction.

"I might, if you don't shut up," James snapped.

"Oh, do you like Colleen?" Rose asked. Tyler looked as though he wanted to either kill James or disappear until the conversation had moved on to safer topics. "She's quite nice, you know. If you do like her, though, you'd better say something, or someone else might."

"Hey, Rosie," Roxanne said, "Charlotte Finnigan mentioned that her brother was planning to ask you to Hogsmeade. Did he?"

Rose was regretting saying anything. "Yeah, but I said I was spending the day with my family."

"You know, you want to turn him down better than that," James said. "Or, actually, maybe not. Try to maneuver it so when he asks you again, it's in front of that git. That would _really_ make him crazy."

"James, if you hate him, why are you giving her advice on getting him?" Roxanne asked.

He shrugged. "It's up to her, I'm not going to push her toward someone, that's stupid. You know, Lucy tried to do that to me. She seemed to think that dating a prefect might straighten me out some." The other four gave shots of laughter, and he grinned. "Yeah, exactly. Anyway, I don't think he's a bad person, I just think he's a git."

Marion turned to Rose. "So, wait, who's he talking about?"

Rose hid her face in her hands. "Oh, god."

"Well—" Roxanne started, and James cut her off.

"No, let her tell if she wants."

Sometimes, Rose really loved James.

"It's just really strange," she said through her hands.

Marion put an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay," she said, comfortingly. "We'll still love you even if you started snogging some Slytherin."

Rose saw James dart his eyes toward Marion for a fraction of a second, and smirked. He looked back at Rose, clearly about to say something, and she raised her eyebrows a little.

He grinned and shrugged, a glint in his eyes that seemed to say, 'Can you blame me?'

She shook her head in response. She really couldn't. She liked Marion quite a bit. He seemed to understand what she meant, because he reached over and ruffled her hair.

When they got to the common room, they separated. James and Tyler went up to their dormitory, presumably to get clean clothes and go to the bath. Rose, Marion, and Roxanne did the same.

As Rose was sitting on Roxanne's bed afterward, waiting for her to decide how she wanted to wear her hair, Marion looked over at her. "So, will you say now that Tyler isn't here?" Rose felt her face start to go red, and Marion added, "I'll tell you mine if you'll tell me yours, it can't be that awful."

"Scorpius Malfoy," Rose said, quickly. A good half of her reason for saying it was that her desire _not_ to say it seemed suspiciously like fear to her, and fear was never a good reason to avoid something.

Marion frowned. "Didn't you just jinx him earlier this week?"

"Yeah…" Rose blew out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know. He's rather clever, you know?"

Marion shrugged. "I know James has never liked him, but I don't mind him so much." Rose ran a hand through her hair, and Marion exclaimed, "Oh, your ears are red! Does that happen when you're embarrassed?" Rose nodded. "I never noticed that. Your hair's good at covering it."

"I told you mine, you tell me yours," Rose said, refusing to get sidetracked.

Roxanne, who was been pulling her braids into a loose bun, shot Marion an amused look.

"Well…" Marion sighed, and Rose could tell that she was steeling herself. "Well, actually, it's kind of James."

"Oh, that's not so bad," Rose said. "James is a good choice!"

Marion rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. James is a terrific choice. Except for all of the ways in which he's not."

"How so?" Rose asked.

"Well, for one thing," Marion said, "he _does_ have a bit of an ego problem. I think he'd probably make me chase him on principle, no matter how much he liked me."

Rose winced. She loved her cousin, but she could easily see him behaving that way. She resolved to have a talk with him.

It occurred to her that she was probably approaching the situation with Malfoy in the same way. The insight into her own character made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Roxanne turned around. As always, her hair looked amazing. "Let's get going."

James and Tyler were waiting by the portrait hole, and they all climbed out and headed toward the dungeons. Rose purposely dawdled behind the others, and after a moment, James dropped back to walk with her.

"So you noticed that, huh?" he asked.

"Yup. Why don't you say something?"

He shrugged. "I get chased. I don't chase. She'll come around."

"James, really?" Rose asked, half exasperated and half amused.

He laughed and said, "All right, no, that would be stupid. No, I figure if nothing's happened by Christmas, I'll do something about it then."

"I wish he wasn't going to be there," Rose muttered. "I have no idea what to do."

"Just stick next to me the entire time, then," he told her. When she looked at him quizzically, he said, "I'd be surprised if he said something to you when you were in the company of a close male relative who he really doesn't like. So just dodge the bullet."

"But how am I supposed to deal with this in general?" she asked, feeling a little desperate.

"Well…" James ran a hand through his hair. "Just put on a show of confidence. It's kind of like with wild animals. You just can't show them that you're scared."

"James, Scorpius is not a wild animal," she said, laughing.

"I know that," James replied, looking wounded. "I'm just saying that it's a valid tactic in a wide range of situations. Can't ever really steer you wrong." She probably still looked morbid, because he elbowed her gently. "Hey, you can always just wait and figure it out Christmas, like me."

She snorted. "Can I?"

He thought for a moment. "No, I suppose not." She gave a frustrated sigh, and he put his arm around her shoulder. "Look, Rosie, so just have a normal conversation or two with him. Then maybe you'll figure out exactly how you feel about him, and he'll figure out exactly what it is that he likes about you. Then you act accordingly."

"So I should try to maneuver it so—"

"I didn't say that!" James exclaimed. "That's part of his figuring it out, you know. It would be _unfair_ to deny him that."

Rose smiled involuntarily. "I feel like you're giving me advice tailored to the arrogant."

"Never change yourself for a man, Rosie," James said sagely.

She giggled. "You're the best."

"So I'm told. Let's hope Marion decides she agrees." He gave her a quick smile. "Come on. They're going to eat all the good food."

They were the last ones to get there, but not everyone had actually sat down at the table yet. James spotted Malfoy, who was seated, and nudged Rose. She nodded, and they headed over toward him.

On the way, James stopped near Marion and said, "Come sit with me." She looked a little surprised, but quite pleased all the same.

Rose settled herself next to Malfoy, who looked a little startled. When James sat down on Rose's other side, Malfoy clearly had some misgivings, and it took him a moment to greet Rose.

"Hey, Red."

"Good evening, Scorpius."

He looked even more surprised by that, but he was given a moment of reprieve by Slughorn, who called over to Rose, "Hello, Ms. Weasley. I just had a letter from your mother yesterday. Charming girl, always good to hear from her. Best in her class, you know. Seven outstandings on her N.E.W.T.s, _most_ impressive. I hope you'll be following in her footsteps?"

Rose smiled. "I hope so. We'll see how I do on my O.W.L.s."

Slughorn shook his head, beaming. "You'll do quite well, I'm sure of it." He turned to James. "And how are your parents? Terrific students, very talented, some of my favorites, you know…"

James waited for his ramble to stop, and replied, "Very well, thank you, sir."

Slughorn quizzed James for a few more minutes, and then moved on to Roxanne. He'd never really known either of her parents, but he'd always been very impressed with her, which was probably part of why he'd let her get away with the firecrackers.

Rose was good at potions. Malfoy almost always edged her out on final exams. Roxanne put them both to shame.

After Slughorn had engaged Roxanne in a conversation about the possibility of her becoming a Healer, Malfoy turned to Rose.

"You called me Scorpius," he said.

She looked back at him impassively. "Isn't that your name?"

"You never call me by my name."

"Is Malfoy not part of your name?" she asked, intentionally putting on an expression of boredom.

"You know what I mean," he snapped. "You know, you're the only one I know who could have managed to turn that into an insult."

"Would you prefer I go back to Malfoy?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "You will anyway."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "Maybe not."

He darted a look at James, who seemed to have joined Slughorn's conversation with Roxanne. They were now talking about the possibility of joining a Quidditch team together. Rose personally thought that they were worth a lot more together than separate, though they were both certainly quite good on their own. Malfoy appeared to debating whether he dared to mention their encounter that morning.

He apparently decided that he didn't dare, because he said, "Rose, you're a real pain, you know that?"

"I've been told that once or twice," she admitted airily, and picked up her goblet. She gave him a suspicious look, and put it back down. She'd been looking away from talking to Slughorn. Malfoy could have easily put something in it.

"I didn't put anything in it," he told her, laughing. When she continued to look at him, her eyes narrowed, he added, "I promise."

She picked up the goblet and took a cautious sip. "Just checking," she said.

"I can't blame you." He had clearly relaxed a little, probably in part because James had been completely ignoring his presence. "I know this is a really awkward question, but were you just trying to get back at me for that today?"

Rose looked at him incredulously. "No," she said, after a moment. "Do you really think I would?"

"No. Not really. But I've been told I'm a little paranoid." Rose had to force herself not to giggle at that. "And, while I have decided that you're not as callous as I thought you were, I think you're arrogant enough that you sometimes just don't notice that you're being hurtful." Malfoy said it all in a bit of a rush, and picked up his goblet.

"You know," she said as he took a drink, "in Gryffindor, insulting someone doesn't actually help convince her to be your girlfriend."

He choked. "Is that actually a possibility?" he asked hoarsely, his eyes watering 

Rose shrugged. "Not if you keep insulting me." He opened his mouth, and she held up a hand. "Okay, I get it, you think I'm arrogant. Maybe I am, at that. Mostly, you've been combative and judgmental. I think I prefer arrogance."

He stared at her for a moment, and then said slowly, "You're very good at justifying yourself, but I'm not in the wrong."

"I'm not justifying myself," she said calmly. "I'm just pointing out that your strategy isn't one that's likely to get you what you want."

"How do you know what I want?" She rolled her eyes, and he smiled despite himself. "Okay. Fair point." He sighed and asked, "Look, is that actually a possibility?"

"Didn't I just say it was?" He kept looking at her, and she added, "Yes, it is."

"Oh." He was quiet for a few moments, and then he said, "So, who's your favorite Quidditch team?"

Rose laughed. "James and I like the Arrows."

James looked around. "What about me?"

She could see Malfoy getting tense again before she turned to James. "We were talking about Quidditch. I was saying that we like the Arrows."

"Oh." He looked past her at Malfoy. "Yeah, the Arrows are the best. Who's your team?"

Malfoy looked as though he'd never been addressed by James in such a friendly manner. Rose supposed that it was entirely possible that he hadn't. "Pride of Portree," he said, after a moment.

"Oh, they're all right," James said. "I don't much like the way their Chasers play, but their Beaters are good."

"Well, it isn't all the Chasers," Malfoy said. "It's just McDonnell being a glory hog. I keep hoping they'll get rid of him or some Beater will seriously injure him so they play Cooper instead. I'm not going to change my team just because of him, though."

"Fair enough. McDonnell _is_ a glory hog, I was glad the Arrows were too smart to sign him."

"Lucky you," Malfoy said dryly.

James laughed. "We paid our dues, we had Wilkinson for two seasons. Most useless Seeker in the league."

"I thought Hugo and dad would cry when the Chudley Cannons signed him," Rose said. "I wouldn't stop reminding them of it for weeks."

Marion leaned over. "Who, Wilkinson?" Rose nodded, and she said, "He was a useless seeker. He belongs on the Cannons, now he won't bring down the good teams."

"Who's your team, then?" asked Malfoy.

"Puddlemere United," Marion said. "Though they haven't been the same since Oliver Wood retired. Who's yours?"

"Pride of Portree."

She sighed. "I would like them more, but—"

"I know McDonnell's an idiot," he said.

Marion smiled. "As long as you know that, you're allowed to root for them." She leaned back, and James turned back to talk to her.

"I think that's the first conversation I've ever had with him," Malfoy said quietly.

"He's really a terrific person," Rose told him. He shrugged, and Slughorn started talking to him.

When they left dinner, Rose was pleased. They'd managed to avoid arguing for most of the evening. When they reached the corridor she assumed led to the Slytherin common room, Malfoy said, a little awkwardly, "Well… I'll see you."

She kissed his cheek. "Good night," she said, and hurried to catch up with her cousins.


	20. Arguments, Accusations, and Confessors

**Thanks to ErinFabu, loverofbooks20, H0RR0Rheart, sherbetgirl, tecane, hi, ncislover1111, Madsen-Lover, CaptainSlow, brainandheart, and Katie for their reviews!**

**Unfortunately, my vacation is over after today, so the updates will be less often. I'll still try to make it every few days, but if it's a bit longer than that, my apologies.**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Arguments, Accusations, and Confessors

Rose had completely forgotten that Albus had said he wanted to talk to her about Scorpius, but when she climbed through the portrait hole after Roxanne, she saw him chatting with a few of their year mates and had to fight to urge to run upstairs. She had no idea what he wanted to say, but she was sure that it couldn't be good.

She steeled herself, told Roxanne she'd join them in a minute, and walked over to Albus. He looked up. "How was dinner?"

Rose shrugged. "The usual. Did you want a word?"

He nodded and got up. They settled at a table in the corner of the common room. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. "This is awkward."

"Well, then, let's just not talk about it," she suggested, though she knew that wasn't going to happen.

"No," he said. "We need to. Look, Scorpius and I had an interesting conversation over lunch."

Rose managed, with great difficulty, to stop herself from saying, "Well, isn't that just terrific." Instead, she gave what she hoped was a bland smile and simply said, "Oh?"

Albus was looking at her very closely. "Apparently, he's decided he fancies you."

"Has he?" she asked, hoping that she sounded either curious or surprised.

"Yes," Albus said, dryly. "I thought he hated you."

"Are you sure he doesn't?"

"Apparently he likes you more than he hates you."

"How… interesting." Rose had no idea what to say.

"He also said that you knew everything he was telling me," Albus said, giving her a pointed look.

She ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay, yes, I do."

"Look," Albus said, sighing again, "I just… look, I know you don't like him. I don't expect you to. But it seems to me like you've been… encouraging him, and I kind of think you've been doing it on purpose." She looked down, feeling guilty. She didn't see how she _could_ have told him before now, but it rankled that Malfoy had managed it first.

Albus had stopped talking, and she looked back up. He looked very conflicted. "Spit it out," she told him, feeling horribly vulnerable. This was exactly why she _hadn't_ talked to him about it.

James was judgmental of other people, but he typically didn't find fault with _her._ Al might not be judgmental, but he could definitely make you feel ashamed of yourself.

Even when you hadn't really done anything wrong.

Well. Maybe her definition of 'anything wrong' wasn't really the same as Al's. She was sure that he would regard plenty of things about her conduct over the past week as 'wrong.' Today hadn't been quite as bad, but she suspected that Albus wouldn't approve of her 'make him chase me' approach, either.

"Rose, you're my cousin and I love you. I do."

He stopped, and she unclenched her jaw long enough to say, "But?" This was even more uncomfortable than she'd thought it would be.

"But I think it's a really rubbish thing to do to play with someone's feelings like that when you don't like them," he said, quickly.

"How do you know I don't?" asked Rose.

Albus stared at her for a moment and then said, "_Do _you?"

She groaned. She knew this conversation had to happen. She wished it didn't. "I hate you, Albus. Go away."

His eyes got wider. "You do?"

"Go away. I don't want to talk about this with you." She put her head on the table. Her face felt warm.

"You do," he said, softly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You're his friend," she pointed out, her voice a little muffled.

She could see Albus shaking his head out of the corner of her eye. "Well, that makes everything else I was planning to say pointless." He paused for a minute, and then asked disbelievingly, "Do you _really?"_

"_Yes,"_ she snapped.

"Since _when?" _He had clearly been completely thrown by this new information.

"I don't know." She picked her head up off the table. "I don't know. Can we not talk about it?"

"No," he replied. "So what, does that mean you're _together?_"

"_No!"_ she said, so vehemently that several people looked over. "Are you _kidding_ me?" she hissed, lowering her voice. "He can't go five minutes without insulting me! Why would I get together with someone like that?"

Albus was looking very confused again. "But you said that you liked him."

"I do. I also have _self-respect_. I'm not about to go off and get with somebody who can't stop insulting me." Al opened his mouth, and she added, "I already told him, insulting me nonstop won't get him what he wants, even if he does think he's in the right."

"How do you know what he wants?"

Rose made a disgusted sound. "Because it's written all over his face. Please, Al. You're not stupid. You noticed how he reacted when you asked—" she lowered her voice "—about Alex asking me to Hogsmeade, I _know_ you did. And… well, let's just say there have been other signs."

"Like what?" he demanded. "I mean, yes, I noticed his reaction, which was why I stopped the conversation, and why I wasn't completely shocked today, but what 'other signs' are you talking about?"

She didn't know if she wanted to get into this with him, but she was afraid she'd backed herself into a corner. "Just, you know. Other signs."

Albus was apparently not in a forgiving mood, because he did not let her off the hook. "Like what?" he asked again, and she could tell he wasn't going to let up until she told him. She tried to think of more benign examples, but his eyes narrowed as she hesitated. "Don't make anything up."

She sighed. "Like looking down my shirt."

He blinked. "He did? When?"

"When we were looking at the map that day, and I was leaning over," she said, shrugging. She didn't find that to be particularly exciting.

Albus apparently felt differently. "Great. That's just terrific." He laughed, but Rose could tell he wasn't amused. "I mean, I'm not naïve. I don't think that he's just drawn to your winning personality and pretty face." Rose felt the sarcasm he was using was excessive, but didn't interrupt. "But, you know, it would be nice if I could trust one of my best friends to respect me a little more than to do that around me."

Rose felt that he was being distinctly unfair. "Look, Al, I don't think he meant to be disrespectful. I think it was just that I was leaning over, and…" This was definitely a far more awkward conversation than the ones she'd had with James.

"Were you doing _that_ on purpose?" Albus asked shrewdly.

She jerked back, feeling hurt. _"No!"_

Rose wasn't sure if he'd believed her, but he dropped it, though she could tell that Scorpius wasn't off the hook. "What else?"

"Like blushing every time I asked him whether he found me attractive."

"Why were you asking that?" Al's face was stony.

Rose ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay. So. Here's the thing."

"Nothing good _ever_ comes after that," he said, "but let's hear it."

"So, when you were talking to each other, in the corridor that one day… and he was saying he thought I was arrogant…"

"Go on," Albus said, after she'd trailed off. "I'd really love to hear how you eavesdropped on my private conversation with my friend. I take it he knows? Because he's not stupid enough to take you at your word?"

She didn't even feel like she'd done anything really bad by eavesdropping, and she was still feeling terrible about herself. "I was just curious," she said. "Because he was so nasty to me, and I hadn't even done anything wrong. And you guys were right there, and then you started talking, and…" she stopped, feeling that she was probably not helping her case.

Rose would have felt better if Albus had started screaming. Instead, he sat back, crossed his arms, and said calmly, "Well, on one hand, I'm a little surprised that he's apparently gotten _more_ interested in you knowing that, but on the other, I'm really starting to think that the two of you deserve each other."

This was definitely worse than she thought it would be. "I didn't mean anything by it," she said, a little desperately.

"Rose, why should I believe you?" he asked, harshly. She shouldn't have brought up the eavesdropping. She _knew_ he hated being lied to like that. He could usually put up with omissions, and she hadn't actually lied to him about Malfoy's hair, but she _had_ convincingly lied to his face about the secret passage.

She swallowed hard, and could feel her eyes welling up with tears. She didn't much care about fighting with other people, but she hated fighting with her cousins like this. "Because it's the truth!" she snapped. "I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I was just _curious."_

"And you thought that curiosity was a good excuse to lie?" he asked, but she could tell he was trying to calm himself down.

"I just didn't want you to get mad at me." She tried to stop herself from crying. She hated crying.

Albus sighed, and put his face in his hands. She took the opportunity to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You didn't want me to get mad at you. Great." He looked back up. "Okay. Fine. So nothing has actually happened?" Something clearly occurred to him, and he added, "Does he even _know_ how you feel?"

"He knows," Rose said, choosing to answer the second question first. Albus gave her a severe look, and she wrinkled her nose. "Well, I wouldn't say _nothing_ would be precisely correct."

"Great," he muttered. "What _would_ be precisely correct?"

"Well…" she drew out the word, and paused. "I guess we've kissed a few times. He started it!" Technically, that was true. Some people might say that there was a world of difference between a kiss on the cheek and what she'd initiated that morning. Most people would probably say that, even. They would all be right. Still, technically, Malfoy had started it.

"Since _when?"_ asked Albus, clearly trying to find his footing again.

"Yesterday."

"You were in the hospital wing all day yesterday," he said, clearly confused.

She shrugged. "He visited me."

Albus was starting to look very irritated again. "He visited you in the hospital wing and decided that it was a good time to—"

"It was only a kiss on the cheek," Rose said hurriedly.

He looked mollified. "So that's all there was?"

She swallowed. "No. He was late to your class this morning because I… well, it wasn't just a kiss on the cheek." Her cousin's eyebrows shot up, and she was suddenly reminded very strongly of his brother, though James rarely looked this severe. "It wasn't my fault! _He_ decided to drop back and bother _me!_ And he basically dared me! Anyway, he certainly didn't mind." That might be a bit of a loose interpretation, but she thought it got the message across.

"How do you know he didn't mind?" Albus asked distractedly. She could tell that he was still processing all of the information.

She sighed. "Because he's been bothering me about doing it again all day. But, like I said, I have self-respect." She also wanted to make him chase her, and she knew she had him hooked enough that he'd do it now, but she decided that Albus didn't need to know about that particular motivation.

Rose was afraid that he would get annoyed again, but he didn't. Instead, he shook his head and leaning forward. "So… where exactly does that leave you?" he asked.

She shrugged. "He's your friend, why don't you track him down and ask him?" Albus looked stung, and she forced herself to calm down. "I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I lied to you. Look, are you really that annoyed?"

Albus sighed. "I don't know. That you lied to me and that he's apparently been a lot more interested in you than he ever told me is definitely annoying me, yeah. I'm honest with you guys. Why can't you be honest with me?"

Rose hated the guilt trip. "Because you have a talent for making me feel awful about myself even when I haven't done anything wrong."

"Then why doesn't it ever stop you from doing it again?" he asked. She didn't answer, and he shook his head. "No, I guess I'm not that annoyed. Or, I am, but I'll get over it."

"Look, I'm not just playing with his feelings or trying to make him feel bad. Okay?" He nodded, and she said, "I need to get some work done. Want to join us?"

He gave her a faint smile. "No, thanks. I'll get over it, but right now, I think I need to not be near either of you."

"I really am sorry," she said.

"I know." He got up. "Thanks for the apology."

He walked back to Colleen and Damien. Rose felt as though she'd just flown through a very unpleasant storm. As she went to join James, Roxanne, Marion, and Tyler, who were clearly hard at work, she was glad that she'd at least managed to keep James out of it.

She spent a good part of the night on schoolwork. When she finally went to bed, only Roxanne and Marion were still awake, and both were showing distinct signs of drowsiness.

As she crawled into bed, it occurred to her that quite a lot had happened since she'd woken up that morning, and she hoped that the next day wouldn't bring anything more exciting than Quidditch practice and more schoolwork. Her life had certainly become a lot more interesting, but she needed a day off.


	21. Jealousy, Insecurity, and Scorpius

**Thanks to H0RR0Rheart, Loony Luvgood1, Katie, ErinFabu, ncislover1111, sherbetgirl, and Little Miss Sunshine for their reviews! As always, I appreciate them.**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Jealousy, Insecurity, and Scorpius

Other than Quidditch practice Saturday morning, Rose spent most of the weekend completely absorbed in her schoolwork. She was still behind in some of her classes because of her day in the hospital wing, and even if she hadn't been, O.W.L. year was turning out to be very demanding. She also wanted to practice the Patronus Charm.

On Monday morning, she sat down at the Gryffindor table with James and Roxanne. To her surprise, Albus joined them. He'd barely spoken to her since Friday night, and she'd taken her cue from him.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning," she replied. "Does this mean you're speaking to me now?"

"Yes." As he served himself sausages, he added, "But for the record, I do think that you're being unfair to him."

Rose grimaced. "What, have you talked to him?"

"Last night." He took a sip of water. "He didn't contradict anything you said. I still think you're being unfair."

She opened her mouth, and James, who had clearly been listening in, leaned across the table to interrupt. "The post will be here soon. Do you think I'll finally get that howler? If it doesn't come today, I don't think I'll be getting one."

Albus laughed. "I think you probably got off this time." He looked up as the owls entered the Great Hall, and Rose looked at James questioningly.

He shook his head and said, so quietly that she could barely hear him, "It's not worth it."

She gave it up. He was probably right.

A small owl swooped down and offered a letter to Rose. She took it, and to her surprise, the owl stayed put. She offered it a bit of toast and opened the letter. "Oh, it's from Victoire!"

_Rosie,_

_Roxanne told me that you have a game on your birthday, and can go into Hogsmeade the next day. Teddy and I want to celebrate your birthday with you. We should both be able to get one of the days off if we put in for it now, but only one of them, because we're both very busy at the moment. Which day would you rather we come?_

_Send back your answer with this owl, We want to put in for the time now so we're sure we can get it._

_All my love,_

_V._

Rose thought for a moment, and then took out a piece of paper.

_V.,_

_Sunday if you can get it, I'd rather really get to visit with you both than have you see us play._

_I can't wait to see you!_

_Rose_

Rose's relationship with Victoire had definitely changed over the last year or so. Victoire was so much older than her that they'd only been at Hogwarts together for a year, and she'd always been more of an older sibling than a peer. The same was true, to a slightly lesser extent, of Fred.

However, as she'd gotten older, she'd noticed that they were both treating her more like an equal. It was an interesting change.

After they'd finished breakfast, she and Albus headed to herbology. She lingered afterward to talk to Professor Longbottom about the homework he'd handed back. Consequently, when Rose got to care of magical creatures, most people were already there.

Albus was talking with Scorpius Malfoy and Noah Nott about crups, which they were supposed to start that day.

She didn't know what would happen if she joined them, but she knew she didn't want to open the door. As she was walking over to Natalia, however, Alex stopped her.

"Hey, Rose," he said, looking a little embarrassed.

Malfoy immediately looked up. When he saw that she had noticed, he turned back to Albus and Nott, but he was clearly still listening.

"Hey, Alex," she said, wishing she was somewhere else.

"It's fine if you don't want to," he started, speaking rather quickly, "but I was wondering if you'd go out with me. At some other Hogsmeade weekend. Or something." He paused and then added, "I know you said no, it's just that I'm not really sure you processed what I was asking. Again, it's totally fine if you don't want to. I just thought I'd ask."

Malfoy wasn't even pretending to pay attention to his friends now. He was looking directly at Rose, and she could tell that he was feeling both jealous and insecure. This was exactly what James had said would happen. She found herself enjoying his reaction.

"You're right, I hadn't really processed it," she told Alex. "I'm sorry. I was really distracted that day."

"It's no problem, really. It was actually kind of funny."

"Personally, once I figured it out, I was more embarrassed than amused, but…" She darted a glance over toward Scorpius. He was clearly very tense. "Anyway. I'm sorry, Alex, but no."

He shrugged. "It's no problem. Really." She smiled at him tentatively, and he smiled back. "I'm… going to go over there now. Otherwise it's going to get awkward."

She laughed. "I'll see you." He nodded and rejoined Damien.

Natalia walked over to her. "Why does Scorpius Malfoy look so relieved?" she asked, quietly.

Rose didn't look over. She trusted Talia to assess the situation accurately. "Well, apparently he fancies me." She kept her voice quiet enough that it couldn't be overheard, but not too quiet that it looked like they were hiding something.

"I thought he thought you were conceited," Talia said, matching her volume.

"That, too."

"Do you fancy him?" Talia asked.

"A bit," Rose admitted.

Talia giggled. "He's rather good-looking, isn't he?"

"He's good at kissing, too." Rose hadn't realized that she was going to say that, and felt her ears start to burn.

"Oh?" Talia looked intrigued. "When did you find _that_ out?"

"Friday morning," Rose said. "He was bothering me about it, so I kissed him to make him uncomfortable."

"Well, that's certainly one approach. Hey, come sit with me at lunch. I feel like I didn't seen you much at all last week."

Rose frowned. "How about dinner?"

Natalia shrugged. "Sure," she said, as Hagrid called the class to order.

After class, most of the students made a speedy retreat to the castle, clearly looking forward to lunch.

Rose, however, intended to spend lunch sitting by the lake. She'd had a big breakfast, so she figured she could go without lunch, and she was craving peace and quiet. Spending the entire weekend working had certainly been very good for her marks, but she hadn't gotten much time to herself.

It wasn't so cold that it would be uncomfortable to sit there, but it she thought it was cool enough to dissuade other people who might have had the same idea.

Of course, she'd reckoned that without Scorpius Malfoy. After she'd been sitting there for a few minutes, looking across the lake and enjoying the breeze, she heard a voice behind her.

"Nice day, isn't it?"

She jumped up, pulling her wand out and pointing it in the direction of the voice. When she saw it was Scorpius, she sighed and put her wand away. "Oh. It's just you."

"I'm hurt," he said. "I'm a 'just you' now?"

She leaned against the tree. "What do you want?"

He put on an expression of deepest hurt that she was sure was not genuine. "How do you know I'm not just here to enjoy the scenery with you?"

"Are you?" Rose was not expecting a yes, and sure enough, he shrugged.

"No."

"So what do you want?" she repeated.

He smiled. "I'm going to turn your hair green." Her hand flew up to her throat, and she realized that she'd forgotten to put the necklace on that morning. She was going for her wand when he started laughing, and she noticed his wand sticking out of his bag. "I'm joking. Calm down. I don't have a death wish."

Rose smiled despite herself. "Good to hear."

Scorpius crossed his arms. "Alex Finnigan tried to ask you out again."

"Yes, this time I noticed," she said dryly. She'd suspected it was about this.

"You said no."

She nodded. "Yes, I noticed that, too."

"Why?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

Now he'd lost her. She'd been expecting him to gloat or tease her, not question her motivation in the first place. "What do you mean, why? I told you I wasn't interested in Alex Finnigan. It's not that big a deal."

He frowned. "No, I mean, was it because you weren't interested in him, or because of me?"

Rose was seriously starting to question his sanity. "I told you I would give you a chance. What?" she asked. "Did you think I was lying before?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Lying? No. Totally prepared to ditch me if someone _better—_" he said the word very sarcastically "—came your way, yes." Completely willing to go out with someone else to make me jealous?" He paused, pretending to think deeply. "Also yes."

She scowled. "What kind of person do you think I am?" It occurred to her that a conversation based around that question would probably be very unproductive, so before he could answer, she shook her head. "No. I was not prepared to _ditch you _for someone else. I said I'd give you a chance before thinking about anyone else."

"That's _not_ what you said. You said that it was a _possibility_," he corrected her.

Rose stared at him blankly. "Yeah, exactly. It's the same thing."

"It is _not_ the same thing," he snapped. "A _possibility_ doesn't mean closing yourself off to every other guy."

She was remembering why she hated associating with Slytherins. "Yes, it does. It's dishonest not to."

"Right," he scoffed. "Because you're such an honest person."

"About important things, yes!" Rose could feel her cheeks burning.

"For someone who's honest, you sure do have a habit of eavesdropping and lying about it. Tell me, were you in the library on Thursday night?" She pursed her lips, and his eyes narrowed. "Albus told me you disappeared for awhile."

"Why on earth did he tell you that?" She was going to kill her cousin.

"I was just so concerned that you were really okay, and he told me that Madam Pomfrey gave you a clean bill of health twice." He smirked.

"Now who's the liar?" she spat back.

"Sorry, Red. Fire with fire." He reached up to touch one of her curls. "Then, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" His hair had finally faded to something remotely approaching his natural hair color, but it was still more strawberry blond than platinum. Rose was very impressed with her cousins for making it stick for so long.

She jerked back and glared at him. "What, so, _I'm_ just a game until someone better comes along, then?" she asked, tired of being of the defensive. She wasn't very good at it.

Scorpius looked stung. "I didn't say that."

"No," she said, already feeling much better. She was more comfortable being on the attack. "As I recall, you haven't said much of anything. So, what, am I just until someone _better_ comes along?"

"Rose, you are far too much effort for that," he told her. She had no idea how to respond. He looked up at the sky, as if hoping to find some inspiration up there. As far as she could see, all there were up there were hippogriffs.

"What?" She was starting to feel very disconcerted. Arguments made sense. Random silence didn't.

"Look," Scorpius said, turning back toward her, "I get it. You want to be chased. Honestly, I think that no matter how much you liked me, you'd want to be chased on principle." This was so close to what Marion had said about James that Rose flinched. She had no idea how he interpreted it, but he continued on. "Fine. I'll chase you. As long as I know I'm going to get you eventually."

Rose thought, absurdly, of the eight ball muggle toy her grandparents had given Hugo a few years before. "Seems likely," she said.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm shocked." He took another step toward her, and she could feel her heart speeding up. "Do you want an incentive for making up your mind?"

Rose realized what he was going to do, and decided that the best course of action would be to enjoy it and then act nonchalant afterwards. "Sure," she said lightly.

Scorpius smiled. "Are you positive?"

She knew what he was doing, because it was exactly what she'd been doing to him on Friday.

Unfortunately, knowing what he was doing did not stop her from reacting the same way that he had. She could feel her breath coming more quickly, and actually caught herself licking her lips.

She felt that the situation was distinctly unfair. He had the advantage, because she'd already kissed him and knew that she would enjoy it.

He laughed. "Don't you like having the situations reversed?"

"Doesn't make much difference to me," she tried to say blithely, but her voice trembled.

"Right," he said. She could tell he was amused. He trailed his fingers down her face, and she shuddered. "You didn't answer me. Are you positive?"

She shrugged, not trusting her voice not to waver.

Scorpius shook his head. "Sorry, Rose. I need an actual answer." He pulled his hand back. "Or I guess I could just walk away."

"No," she said, before she knew she had opened her mouth.

He smirked. "No, you aren't positive?"

Rose did not appreciate being toyed with, but found herself rooted to the spot. "Yes. I'm positive."

"Was that so hard?" he asked, bring his hand back up to stroke her hair.

"Yes," she said, crossly.

He kissed her. One of his hands was now tangled in her hair, and the other arm had encircled her waist again, pulling her very close. She realized that somehow, her hands had ended up on both sides of his face, and that she was kissing him back with much more enthusiasm than she'd expected.

The thought crossed her mind that she had no idea why she was reacting this strongly to someone she barely even knew, but she pushed it away. At the moment, she didn't care.

When he made to pull away, she shook her head and tightened her grip. He didn't resist, and when she finally pulled back, panting, he crushed his lips to hers again. She could tell that he'd completely lost his composure.

After they finally broke apart, she smiled. "I thought you had self-control."

Scorpius shrugged, not looking remotely abashed. "The more I kiss you, the easier it'll be to catch you."

"How do you figure?" she asked.

He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear, "Well, you seem to enjoy it."

Rose smiled. "I do. Have fun chasing me."

Before she could spin away, his grip on her waist tightened. "I will," he said, and pressed his lips against hers again.


	22. Patrols, Shadows, and Company

**Thanks to H0RR0Rheart, Wolowitz, elizaII, Loony Luvgood1, sherbetgirl, he-be-forgot, ncislover1111, ErinFabu, alexxxpac3, CaptainSlow, Little Miss Sunshine, Samesinlove, Meliah, and J for their reviews!**

**I noticed a few typos after I put the chapter up—I feel like that happens every single time, and it's very irritating. I promise I try to catch them, and I'm sorry for the ones I don't.**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Patrols, Shadows, and Company 

Class that afternoon passed quickly. Rose had gotten an E on her last charms assignment, and felt confident about the one that she handed in. They didn't get anything back in ancient runes, but she felt good about what she handed in. She managed to produce a Patronus in defense against the dark arts, and she'd even gotten an O on the dementor assignment they'd handed in Friday. She was even alert enough to take good notes in history of magic, which she hadn't managed to do in half of their classes that semester.

Rose managed to finish her potions work and even managed to make a dent in transfiguration before dinner.

Feeling very pleased with herself, she made her way down to the Great Hall.

She saw James in front of her, and hurried to catch him. "James!"

He turned. "Hello, Rose."

She lowered her voice. "Would you be up to a Hogsmeade visit tomorrow afternoon?"

"What, just to visit with Fred?" he asked. She nodded, and he said, "Sure. I've got a few hours free."

He entered the Great Hall, and she followed him. On her way to the Hufflepuff table, a very harassed looking Evelyn Greengrass cornered her.

"Rose, I'm glad you're here. Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," Rose said, wondering what favor the head girl could want.

"Pritchard ended up in the hospital wing after they had herbology today. Would you switch with her and Wood and patrol tonight? Noah's already said he will. It's only that if you can't, Ethan and I _have_ to do it, and _I_ have a big herbology assignment due tomorrow, and Tuesday is always one of my worst days even without that—"

"Evelyn," Rose interrupted, "it's fine. I don't mind."

Evelyn blew out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

"I'm trying to be responsible," Rose said, smiling. "Though I still don't know why they made me a prefect."

"Oh, well, a few prefects recommended you," Evelyn said distractedly. "Thanks, Rose."

"No problem," Rose said, wondering what prefects would have recommended _her._

She had a very enjoyable dinner. Natalia and Daniel regaled her with the story of how Lindsay Pritchard had ended up passing out after receiving a very nasty bite, and she gave Talia a brief update on the situation with Scorpius Malfoy.

When she noticed it was just before seven, she got up. "Sorry, Talia. Patrol. I'll see you in potions tomorrow?"

"Sure," she said. "Have fun."

Rose rolled her eyes and hurried toward the double doors, where she could already see Noah Nott waiting.

"Lucky us," he said when she reached him.

"I don't mind so much," she said. "By the time Evelyn got to me, I thought she was going to cry."

"I wanted to practice my Patronus, but…" he shrugged. "My brother cornered me. He's the seventh year prefect," Nott added when she looked confused. "Oh well. Same as last time?"

"That's fine," Rose said, and they set off.

She wasn't even halfway down her first corridor when she heard a voice behind her. "Fancy meeting you here."

She turned around. "I have to patrol right now, Scorpius."

"Is there any reason I can't keep you company?" he asked.

Rose supposed there wasn't actually any reason why he couldn't. "Provided you don't start snogging me, no."

He blew out a breath and gave her a very exaggerated look of disappointment. "Too bad. You could use it."

"So could you," Rose pointed out, smirking.

"Maybe you should give it to me, then," Scorpius suggested.

"No." She ignored a slight pang of regret; she really did need to patrol. "Is my company only worth something if you might get a kiss out of it?"

He snorted. "Hardly. But admit it. You'd enjoy it."

She shrugged. "Seems likely."

He laughed and said, "No, seriously, your company is not only worth something if I might get a kiss out of it."

Something occurred to her. She wasn't sure if this was the right time to bring it up, but it had been bothering her, so she decided to risk it. "You know that time I was eavesdropping on you?" she asked, and winced. "Okay, that was not the best way to start that sentence."

"When I was with Albus, or with Noah?" She glanced at him, and saw a glint in his eye she wasn't sure she liked. "Just admit that you were. I promise I won't jinx you."

Rose was conflicted. On one hand, if she actually ended up going out with Scorpius, she didn't much like the idea of lying to him about it. At the same time, she wasn't in the mood for a fight.

He had clearly noticed her hesitation. "What?"

"Yes, I was," she said, making a decision. "But you were being really ridiculous and paranoid, of course I don't have an invisibility cloak. It was just a disillusionment charm."

"You can cast a disillusionment charm?" he asked skeptically.

Rose saw the danger and quickly avoided it. "No, of course not. I had a friend cast it on me."

He frowned. "Who?"

"I'm not telling you," she said quickly.

He sighed. "Please stop doing that."

"Not telling you?" she asked, but she didn't think that was what he was talking about.

Scorpius did not look amused. "No, eavesdropping."

She didn't say anything. She wasn't sure she was willing to promise it. On one hand, it probably was quite unfair. On the other, she kept learning such interesting things.

He shot her a look. "Unless you're afraid to just talk to me about it."

"I'm not afraid," she snapped. He definitely knew how to push her buttons.

"If you say so," he said, shrugging. "Stop eavesdropping, then."

She hesitated. It wasn't so much the idea that it was unfair that bothered her. Fairness was good in theory and all, but she wasn't the type to get too hung up about it. Good was one thing, but fair was something else entirely.

No, the thing that was really going to bother her was his accusation of cowardice. She wasn't a coward. She didn't think that was why she'd been eavesdropping, but now that he'd put the idea in her head, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to get it out.

"Fine," she said grudgingly, and steered the conversation away. "The time you were with Albus."

"What about it?" Scorpius asked warily.

"You said something about us all getting top marks in our years."

He looked a little surprised. Rose wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but this clearly wasn't it. "Yeah, I did," he said.

"Well, I don't know if you were just exaggerating or not, but if you weren't, you're wrong." She wasn't sure why it had been bothering her so much, but it had been.

He stopped. "Why was I wrong?" he asked skeptically.

"I really need to be patrolling. You can walk and talk at the same time," she told him, and peeked inside the classroom they were passing. No one was there.

"Why was I wrong?" he repeated, starting to walk again.

Rose opened the door to another classroom and scanned it. It occurred to her that prefects were probably very annoying for couples that wanted some alone time, but they _did_ need to be thorough.

"For one thing, you get better marks than I do sometimes."

She looked at him, and saw that he was rolling his eyes. "It doesn't count. Come on, Red—" her eyebrows rose, and he hurried to amend the statement. "Come on, Rose. I'm marginally better than you in a few subjects. It's not enough to matter. You're _much_ better than me at plenty of classes."

"You're much better than me in Astronomy," she pointed out, looking into another classroom.

"Am I?" he asked in a tone of surprise.

She gave him a curious look. "Of course you are. I'm terrible in Astronomy. I'll be lucky if I get an A."

"Really?"

Rose groaned. "Yes, _really._ The only reason I even pass is because James helps me with it."

"Oh." They walked for a moment without saying anything, and as she was opening another door, he said, "Well, it's still only one class."

"You're right. It is. I also do work hard to get good marks, shocking as it might sound." She closed the door and ran a hand through her hair.

Scorpius sighed. "I'm starting to realize that. Where do you find the time?"

"Time management," she said, shrugging. "And, by the way, my teammates do the same thing. That's why _they_ tend to get good marks. Though you were definitely overstating it for them, too, except maybe Roxanne."

"Al's brother tends to do well," he pointed out.

Rose bristled. "He has a name. You could use it, you know. And, yes, James does do well in general, but he also got a T on one of his exams."

"He got a _T?_" His voice was surprised. She supposed it was for good reason; most people couldn't manage Ts even in their worst subjects. She might have felt bad talking about James' marks to Scorpius, except that she knew James didn't care. He found his T very amusing. "In _what?_" he asked.

"History of Magic," Rose answered.

He laughed. "Who can blame him? But how did he end up with a T?"

She shrugged. "He skipped class, didn't pay attention when he was there, and never studied. At any rate, we actually work for our marks. And, by the way, for the Cup."

"Are you really saying you aren't arrogant?" he asked incredulously.

"No," Rose said. "I'm not. But you still weren't being fair."

He just stared at her. _"I_ wasn't being fair?"

"That is what I said," she told him, going down the stairs toward the dungeons.

"Your _brilliant_ cousin has been nothing so much as incredibly unpleasant every time he's had to interact with me for the last _four years,_" he said as he followed her. "The other night was the first time he's even managed to be _civil_ to me. He'd probably turn me into a giant slug or something if he knew about…" he gestured between him and Rose. "You know. This."

"He _does_ know," she said, feeling slightly triumphant.

Scorpius jerked his head around instinctively. "He _does?"_ he said, his voice a little higher than usual. "Since _when?"_

Rose shrugged. "He knew before dinner on Friday, if that's what you're asking."

He shook his head. "No, I don't mean he knew about… my feelings, I figured he knew that. Noah figured he knew that—although you probably heard that," he said, giving her an annoyed look. I mean if he knew about… the possibility of you actually getting together with me." His cheeks were a little red.

"I know what you mean, and I'm telling you that he _does_ know." She looked over at Scorpius, who looked like he'd been hit over the head with a sledgehammer. "As I said, he knew _before_ dinner on Friday."

"So why was he trying to be nice to me?" An idea clearly occurred to him, and he added, "He was trying to lure me into a false sense of security!"

Rose snorted. "No, he wasn't."

"How do you know?" Scorpius demanded.

"Maybe I'm flattering myself," she said dryly, "but I think I know my cousin a bit better than you do."

He shook his head. "But it doesn't make sense. He hates me. I know he hates me. Why would he start being nice now that I'm snogging one of his favorite cousins when he hasn't managed it in the four years I've been friends with his brother?"

"Probably because it's easier to ignore your brother's friend than your cousin's boyfriend," she pointed out. "And anyway, James doesn't _hate_ you. He just doesn't like you very much."

Scorpius was clearly struggling with the entire concept. "You're saying that he hasn't tried to convince you that I'm a terrible person and you shouldn't waste your time on me?"

"Hardly," Rose said, feeling a little irritated. He clearly didn't know James at all. "He just said that he didn't understand why, and that who I wanted to go out with was up to me. He doesn't think you're a bad person, you know. He just doesn't like you."

"But why were you asking him in the first place if he doesn't like me?" Scorpius was obviously still very confused.

She shrugged. "He gives good advice."

"If you're following any advice that he's given you, it's no wonder you're being so difficult," he muttered. "You like Roxanne. Why didn't you ask her?"

"She doesn't like you any more than James does, you know," Rose said. "I _have_ mentioned it to her now, and her initial advice was not helpful."

"What was her advice?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"She told me that if I fancied you I should just go off and… well, I'm not entirely sure whether she meant that I should actually shag you or not, but that's the general idea. And then if I decided I didn't like you after all I should just jinx you." Rose realized what she was saying just as she was finishing the sentence, and felt her ears start to get hot. That was not a conversation they needed to be having right then.

She looked over at Scorpius covertly, and was gratified to see that his cheeks were noticeably redder. "That's an interesting approach," he said carefully.

"Yeah, well, that's Roxanne for you," Rose said. "So that's why James."

Scorpius nodded. "So," he said casually, "which of them turned my hair this awful color?"

Rose gave him a look. "Nice try."

"It had to be one of them," he said. "I've thought about it. If you really were with Albus, then it must have been one of them."

"You don't think it could have been my brother?" she asked.

The possibility clearly had not occurred to him. "He's a third year. He wouldn't be able to cast a spell like this, I can't even find the counterjinx." His voice lacked conviction.

"Oh, it's mostly faded away, now," Rose pointed out. She stopped under a torch and reached out to touch it. "It's blond now, at least."

He gave a slight shudder, and she was suddenly aware of how close they were standing to each other. "It's not _my_ blond," he said, clearly trying to keep his voice steady. He mostly succeeded, although she could hear a slight waver in it.

She stepped back. "I'm on patrol," she reminded him, disconcerted to discover that she also needed the reminder. Her heart was starting to pound.

Scorpius nodded reluctantly. "Right." He shook his head in what she assumed was an attempt to clear it.

Rose opened the door to the potions classroom. No one was in there. "What do you want to do after Hogwarts?" she asked as she closed the door.

He didn't answer for a moment, and she looked over at him. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just a little thrown by the question. You're trying to have a normal conversation."

"Yes, that tends to be how people who are going out interact," she told him calmly.

"I thought I was supposed to be chasing you," he said cautiously.

"I'm helping." She smiled at him. "Unless you object?"

"No," he said quickly. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist me for long."

As she laughed, a couple Slytherins walked around the corner. She ignored them.

"Well, you gave me some incentive, or don't you recall?" she asked lightly.

He smirked. "I was hoping it would work."

As Rose neared them, she recognized the two Slytherins as Parkinson and Flint. Both were staring at her and Scorpius.

"Can I help you?" she asked coldly. When Flint opened his mouth, she added, "You might want to be careful what you say. I _am_ a prefect, you know."

He glared at her, but they walked away without saying anything.

Scorpius sighed, and she realized belatedly that escalating the situation might not be helpful for him.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't think."

He gave her a surprised look. "It doesn't matter. They'll give me hell about this one way or another eventually, at least if it works out the way I want it to. I don't really care."

"How do you want it to work out?" she asked mischievously.

Scorpius reached out, put an arm around her waist, and pulled Rose closer to him. "You _know_ how I want it to work out," he said, and pressed his lips to hers.

She smiled. "I'm still not clear, sorry."

He rolled his eyes and let her go. "I'd clear it up for you, but you have to patrol," he said. "What were you asking before? What I want to do after Hogwarts?"

"Yes." Rose could still feel the butterflies in her stomach.

He frowned. "I'm not sure. Recently, I've starting to consider becoming a healer."

"Huh." She wasn't sure what answer she'd been expecting, but she knew it wasn't that. "You do know you have to keep taking herbology for that, right?"

"I know," he said unhappily. "What, are you surprised?"

"Yes," she admitted, "though I don't know why. I wasn't expecting any particular answer."

"Well, that's what I think," he said. "What about you?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know. Something exciting."

"What a surprise," he muttered.

"For awhile, I was thinking of becoming an Auror, but over the summer, I heard that that might not be where the real excitement is at right now."

"What?" she looked over at him, and he was looking a little stunned. "What do you mean, 'real excitement'?"

"There have been a lot of issues with dark creatures. I overheard Victoire telling my uncle." She hoped he wouldn't ask how she'd overheard it.

He didn't. "What did she end up doing?"

"Victoire's working for the Department for the Control and Disposal of Dangerous Creatures," Rose said. "So she would know. I know there's been an increase in dementor attacks recently."

"So, wait," he said. "Are _all_ of your cousins into danger and adrenaline, then?"

"Molly and Lucy aren't. Molly's got a nice normal job in the Department of Magical Transportation now, and Lucy's looking for something similar. But the rest of us can be, a bit, yeah."

"What are they all doing, then?" Scorpius looked a little taken aback.

"Well, V's in Dangerous Creatures, like I said. And Dominique went in for Dragon Research and Restraint." She thought for a minute. "I think Louis is planning to become a Hit Wizard."

"So it isn't just the Gryffindors who are into danger, then," he said.

"No, of course not. We don't let them show us up, though." He rolled his eyes, but she ignored him. "Fred mostly does the joke shop, but that's about as tame as it gets, and he's always blowing things up. Oh, and there's Teddy. He's not technically my cousin yet, but he's a Curse Breaker."

"What do you mean, he's not technically your cousin _yet_?"

She shrugged. "Oh, Victoire will probably marry him eventually, they've been together for years now. James and Roxanne are going to do something exciting, they're just not sure what yet. Albus wants to be an Auror."

"Yeah, he's said that," Scorpius commented. "I didn't know whether he was really serious about it, though."

"I think he is," she said. "I'm not sure what Hugo and Lily are planning to do yet, they're too young, but Hugo's latched onto the idea of being a Curse Breaker. He couldn't wait to start Arithmancy."

When it was clear that she'd stopped, he asked, "So, if being an Auror isn't exciting enough, what _are_ you planning to do?"

"Maybe what V does. That sounds like it's the most exciting." She smiled. Victoire had told so many interesting stories. She would love to get into that kind of situation.

"By exciting, don't you mean dangerous?" Scorpius was clearly perturbed.

"Sure," she said, and looked over at him. "Why? Does that bother you?"

He thought for a minute and then shook his head. "I don't know. I'll figure it out if it becomes relevant."

"Fair enough."

She started ascending the stairs, and he burst out, "I'm not a coward, you know."

Rose looked back, a little startled. "Did I say that you were?"

"No," he said, "but if that's what your family is like, most people look like cowards, and I want you to know that I'm not, even though the idea of being attacked by…" he thought for a moment, and then said, "… a manticore, or something, doesn't exactly appeal to me."

She shook her head. "Scorpius, I don't think you're a coward."

He smirked. "Am I terrible if I think that you're a little crazy?" He started climbing the stairs after her.

"You have a lot of company," Rose said lightly. "I don't mind."

At the top of the third floor, they saw Nott coming down toward the fourth floor.

"You'd think we planned it this way," she called out.

Nott grinned. "You'd think." He looked at his friend. "Scorpius, I didn't realize that you were a prefect, too. Or that Rose needed help patrolling."

Scorpius did not look remotely abashed. "I'm just keeping her company. I'm hoping she realizes that my winning personality and witty comebacks are reason to go out with me."

Rose rolled her eyes at Nott, who looked a little amused. "If that's what you're relying on, good luck," he said.

"It seems to be working," Scorpius said. "Maybe I'll get a kiss goodnight." He winked at Rose.

"Yeah," Nott said. "All you want are a few kisses, right?" He looked at Rose and whispered loudly, "He doesn't just want a few kisses, you know."

"I kind of gathered. There's common sense, and then there's also the tip-off very close proximity in a somewhat compromising situation gives," she replied, smirking.

"I can see that," Nott said seriously.

Scorpius shrugged. "Can you blame me?" he asked.

"Of course not," she said, flipping her hair back. "But then, I wouldn't. I'm arrogant, right?" She waved at Nott. "I'll see you, Noah."

He shook his head. She could hear him call, "Good luck!" to Scorpius as he turned onto the fourth floor.

Scorpius caught up with her. "Looking for your goodnight kiss?" she asked.

He grinned. "I would, but I don't want it to be goodnight yet."

They walked together for another half hour. When her patrol was done and they were standing at the foot of the stairs that would lead her up toward Gryffindor tower, she asked, "Did you want that goodnight kiss, then?"

He didn't wait for her to kiss him.


	23. Dangers, Detentions, and Prefects

**Thanks to sherbetgirl, H0RR0Rheart, ErinFabu, xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx, Katie, brainandheart, ncislover1111, Lucyahz, CaptainSlow, and PrincessDripDrop for their reviews! As always, I appreciate it and will appreciate any more that people feel inclined to leave. **

**The first part of this chapter is related to the fic, but it's also providing a little more background that will probably be important in later ones (especially if I write one about Dominique or James).**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Dangers, Detentions, and Prefects

When Rose climbed through the portrait hole, she saw James and Marion sitting at a table doing work. She slid into the seat next to James.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi," they said together, and went back to what looked like herbology homework.

Rose pulled out her transfiguration homework to finish. When she was put it away, James had moved on to charms and Marion was reviewing defense against the dark arts.

"Seen Al around?" she asked James.

"I think he's in the library," he replied. "He told me to tell you if you asked that he'd be back by curfew." He looked up. "Oh, by the way, just so you know, I booked the pitch this morning for Wednesday afternoon, Thursday afternoon, and most of the day on Saturday."

Rose knew better than to groan. "If we're going to be at practice that much, can you please help me with astronomy? No way I'm going to get it done on my own."

"Sure," he said. "We need to be in top form, especially if Dominique is coming to watch."

Marion looked up. "How is Dominique, by the way?"

"Apparently sporting a few nasty burns," James said, grinning. "Loving her training, though, Dominique's not afraid of getting burned."

"You're not worried about her?" Marion asked.

James shrugged. "Nah, she can take care of herself. Nothing's ever happened to V or Teddy, and Dominique's just as good as them."

Marion raised her eyebrows. "Haven't Victoire and Teddy both ended up in St. Mungo's once or twice?"

"Well, yes, but there wasn't any permanent damage. Anyway, they don't mind, it doesn't scare them off, and it won't scare Dominique either. She'll be fine, she knows the risks." He got up. "I'll be back in a few. I need my charms book."

Marion watched him go and said to Rose, "There's another reason James is not a great choice."

Rose started. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

Marion sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I don't really expect you to properly understand, you're too much like him."

"Try me," Rose said, though she suspected that Marion was right.

"Okay. I'll try you," she said, her voice skeptical. "He's so obsessed with danger. He loves _excitement._ You know me, you know I'm not a coward, but I also don't exactly relish the idea of being in mortal peril on a regular basis. He… does. He's never happier than when we're dealing with some dangerous creature in defense against the dark arts or care of magical creatures, or when he's nearly getting brained by a bludger."

"I know," Rose said. She felt exactly the same way. "But I don't understand. What's the problem?"

Marion sighed. "I like pranks. I like adventures. And I'm not a coward. However, I'm not sure I want to be with someone whose idea of ideal employment is being in dangerous, adrenaline-charged situations."

Marion was right. Rose did not properly understand.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked. "He wouldn't be happy doing anything else."

"I _know,"_ Marion said, a little snappishly. "I _know._ I'm not going to try to convince him otherwise. I just don't know if I can deal with it in a boyfriend." She looked around and added in a soft undertone, "Look, Rose. I think your cousin is terrific. Really. He's one of my best friends, and I fancy him quite a bit. I'm not knocking him. It's just… you guys seem to revel in danger. I don't, and I'm not sure I want to be with someone that does quite as much as him."

Rose found herself squirming in her seat a little. If what Marion was saying was true of James, it was also probably true of her. "Why? He wouldn't drag you along."

"That's not the point, Rose." Marion rubbed her temples. "God. James."

"He's a really terrific person," Rose said.

"You don't need to tell me that," she muttered. "I _know."_ They saw Albus climbing through the portrait hole, and Marion shook her head. "I'm fine, Rose. Really. Go talk to Albus about your new boyfriend."

Rose felt her face get red. "He's not my boyfriend," she said quickly.

Marion shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"Hey, Rose," Albus said, coming to a stop before the table. "Hello, Marion."

"Hey, Albus," she answered, going back to her defense against the dark arts notes. "Rose, enjoy talking to Albus about your new boyfriend."

Rose could tell she was getting even redder. Albus gave her a sharp look, and she glared daggers at Marion. "On Wednesday I'm going to throw the quaffle at you so hard it breaks your nose," she threatened. Marion just grinned.

"Oh, Rosie," said James, who'd come back downstairs, in mock disappointment. "That's not very neighborly, is it?"

"I hate you both," she said. "I'll see you later."

James and Marion waved her off, laughing.

"What boyfriend?" Albus asked as soon as they were seated in a corner of the room.

Rose gave a very exasperated sigh. "I don't _have_ a boyfriend, Marion's just being ridiculous."

"So Scorpius isn't your boyfriend?"

"No. Yes." She put her head in her hands and groaned. "I don't know. No. He's not."

Albus sighed. "Rose, I'm not interested in dictating your love life, and this is honestly a really awkward conversation for me to have. I just want to know—do you honestly _like_ him?" She must have looked as offended as she felt, because he added, "I'm _sorry,_ but this is really coming out of nowhere for me. It surprised me that he had some interest in you, but it didn't shock me. You've barely even acknowledged him over the last four years."

"Yes, I think I honestly like him," she answered, ignoring the last part of what he'd said.

"Does James know?" From his tone, he was clearly expecting a yes, and she wondered exactly how much he was communicating with Scorpius about the issue.

"Yes."

Albus blew out a breath. "Of course he does. What did he say?"

"What do you think?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "Scorpius hates him. He returns the sentiment. I don't see James as the sort to tell you what to do, though, so I don't know."

"He's not. He's just been supportive."

Albus seemed to flinch a little. "You could have talked to me about it, you know."

"No, I couldn't have," she said. "He's your friend."

He looked down at the table. "I don't want to feel like I'm being disloyal to you, and I feel like I am if I say you can't talk to me. I don't want to feel like I'm being disloyal to _either_ of you."

Rose felt her heart go out to him. "Al, look, it could be nothing even comes of it."

"That's not what his face says," Albus said, looking back up at her.

She shifted uncomfortably. "For now," she said and changed the subject. "Just don't take sides. He's got other friends he can talk to about it, hasn't he? I have."

He forced a smile. "I just don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me. Either of you, to be honest." He paused and then admitted, "_I_ don't want to feel so cut off from my closest friends."

"What are you saying, then? That you want me to cut it off before it even properly starts?"

"Of course not," he said, shaking his head violently. "If _James_ is supportive of it, how awful would it be if I wasn't? At any rate, I want you to be happy."

"Oh, Al." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't really thinking."

"Somehow, that doesn't shock me," he quipped, but she could tell it was in good nature.

"I _am_ sorry," she said again.

He shook his head. "Rosie, it's fine, really. I'll be supportive. Just… try to be nice to him."

"I'll try," she promised.

They spent most of the rest of the night doing homework. If Rose was going to be in Quidditch practice for a good portion of her time later in the week, she needed to get as much as possible done.

The next morning at breakfast was fairly uneventful, other than a short reply from Dominique and a long letter from her parents. She arrived to history of magic early, and took out a chocolate frog.

As she was chewing its head in bliss, she heard a voice from above her. "Has anyone ever told you that you look sexy when you're eating chocolate?" Scorpius Malfoy asked.

Rose could feel her cheeks getting warm. "Now they have," she said.

He slid into the seat next to her. "Glad to be the first."

She took another bite of the frog, and closed her eyes. She loved chocolate. When she opened them again, she found Scorpius staring at her. "What's the matter? See something you like?"

"Yes, actually," he said openly. "I thought I'd already made that clear, but apparently I've been too subtle."

When she opened her mouth to answer, she heard a voice calling, "I didn't think you could sink any lower, Malfoy, but I guess I was wrong."

Rose swiveled in her seat furiously. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked Flint.

Flint looked as though he was debating saying anything, but the night before was apparently an unpleasant enough memory that he decided he didn't care. "Well, shagging a Mudblood's brat is lower than I thought even he could get."

Parkinson, who was sitting next to him, sniggered.

"Hey, Flint, had any letters from your grandfather lately? How's he enjoying Azkaban?" Scorpius shot back, just as Rose was opening her mouth. "It's that kind of attitude that got him there. Better be careful."

Rose noticed the Christopher Wood had stopped talking to Colleen and was listening intently. She was glad.

Flint glared at Scorpius, but before he could retort, Parkinson asked him, "How many times do you think that he has to shag her before the filth rubs off on him?"

Rose and Christopher stood up at the same time. "That's out of order," she snapped.

Flint rolled his eyes. "Enjoy getting it while it lasts," he said. "No one else with a decent pedigree will ever be willing to touch you."

"Rose, how many nasty slurs was that, were you keeping count?" Christopher asked.

"At least four or five," she answered.

"I think that's more than enough to deserve three detentions each," he said. "Would you agree, or would you make it an even week?"

Flint and Parkinson had apparently decided they didn't care, because Parkinson called over to Malfoy, "You know, you can't shag the filth out of her. Or has she not even let you get that far? That would make it even more pathetic, if all you were doing was getting off with—"

"Definitely an even week," Rose said.

Noah Nott and the girl they'd met in the hallway after leaving the hospital wing had just walked in with Albus, and, hearing the discussion.

"What's going on?" Noah asked, giving Flint and Parkinson a disgusted look.

Flint smirked. He had apparently decided that he didn't care how many detentions he got.

"Oh, has Scorpius been too ashamed to tell even you what he's—"

"I shouldn't have asked. Were you up to a week, then?" Noah asked calmly.

Scorpius had opened his mouth furiously, and the girl put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head at him. If Rose had left him looking like he'd been made to swallow stinksap before, that was nothing compared to how he looked now.

"We were," Rose said. "I think they've shown they deserve more, though, don't you think?"

"I do," Christopher said. "Claire, do you think we should add two days, or three?"

Parkinson whispered to Flint in a carrying voice, "He probably is just getting off with her. I guess he'll appreciate having the dormitory to himself, then, with all of the detentions we'll be having."

Rose suspected that Scorpius would be feeling embarrassed if he wasn't so apoplectic with rage.

"Three," Claire said, surveying them with dislike. "And I'm going to say fifty points from Slytherin."

Flint and Parkinson looked disgusted. They clearly considered this to be below the belt.

"It'll be a hundred the next time you open your mouths," Noah added.

"But it's your house, too!" Flint whined.

Claire shrugged. "I don't care. Next time you make a nasty comment like that, it _will_ be a hundred. See how much your friends appreciate you then."

"In case you weren't keeping track," Christopher said, "that was eight detentions. And we'll be reporting this to the headmistress."

Flint and Parkinson glowered, but didn't say anything else.

Christopher caught Rose's eye and rolled his eyes.

She shook her head. "Pricks," she muttered. "Thanks for the backup."

"Anytime," he said, and returned to his table.

Noah, Claire, and Albus sat behind Rose and Scorpius and went back to talking about Quidditch, which they'd apparently been doing when they'd walked into the classroom.

Scorpius sighed. "Sorry."

Rose looked at him in surprise. "What? Why? That wasn't your fault."

"No," he agreed, "but it was incredibly unpleasant, and you'll forgive me for being a little paranoid that run-ins like that would make you think better of this whole thing."

"Not because of something like that," she said, and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

His cheeks went a little pink, but he looked pleased. Professor Binns floated through the chalkboard, and class began.

Rose was expecting to find it more difficult to take notes following that incident, but was surprised to find that she didn't have a problem with it at all. Scorpius clearly was having a hard time paying attention, but she suspected that that was more to do with Binns than anyone else. He kept drifting off, and halfway through the lesson, he fell asleep completely. She had to poke him when class ended.

"Ow!" He picked his head up off the desk. "Oh. Is it over?"

"Yes," she said, gathering up her books.

"Why are you moving so quickly?" he asked blearily. "Don't you have a free period?"

"No," she said. "I have arithmancy. I'll see you all in transfiguration." She sped out of the classroom.

Rose ended up being late for transfiguration; arithmancy had run over, and halfway to the transfiguration classroom, she'd realized she'd left her book in class. By the time she'd rushed back to get it and gotten to transfiguration, class had already started. She slid into the empty seat next to Albus with an apology to the professor, and began to take notes.

After class had ended, Scorpius leaned over. "Come have lunch with me?"

She snorted. "Not at the Slytherin table, thanks. Anyway, I have… something to do," she said, trailing off lamely.

"What do you have to do?" he asked, clearly confused. Albus leaned over to listen to her as Noah and Claire headed toward the door.

"James just wants my help with something," she said vaguely.

Scorpius still looked confused, but Albus groaned. "Really, Rose?" She shrugged, and he said, "Sooner or later, you're _going_ to get caught."

"I doubt it," she said.

"What is she doing?" Scorpius asked Albus, apparently assuming that Rose would refuse to tell him.

Albus looked around the room and said in an undertone, "Going into Hogsmeade again."

Scorpius jerked back. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked.

"Nope," Rose said, swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "I've got the afternoon free until potions, and James is free for most of it, too. So why shouldn't we go visit Fred?"

Both boys were looking at her as though she was insane. "Because you'll be in serious trouble if you get caught?" offered Albus.

"I don't know _how_ you think you'll just manage to avoid getting caught," Scorpius said.

"Ask me no secrets, I'll tell you no lies," she said brightly. "I'll see you later."

"Wait," Scorpius said, and then hesitated.

Albus smirked. "You're not interested in her at all, right? You just think she's pretty?"

His cheeks got a little pink. "Al, have I ever mentioned that I hate you?" he asked.

"Yes," he said cheerfully.

"Did you want to say something?" Rose asked.

"After potions, come study with me and Al in the library until dinner," he suggested.

"Sure. Bye, then!" she called over her shoulder as she sped off to meet James in the common room.


	24. Loyalties, Corridors, and Cousins

**Thanks to ncislover1111, Miss Elizabeth12, big big misty fan, H0RR0Rheart, and sherbetgirl for their reviews! As always, I really appreciate it!**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Loyalties, Corridors, and Cousins

By the time Rose and Albus left potions that afternoon, she had completely forgotten her promise to do work with him and Scorpius in the library until dinner.

However, when she made to continue up the stairs to Gryffindor tower, Albus asked, "Weren't you going to work with us in the library?"

Rose frowned for a moment, one foot on the stair that would lead her to the tower. "Oh, right!" she said, suddenly remembering. "I forgot."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Of course you did."

"I was distracted," she said defensively as she followed him into the hallway. "It's been hours, how was I supposed to remember?"

"Oh, Rose," he said, but she knew he wasn't especially shocked.

She wasn't forgetful, precisely, but it had been hours since she promised that, and since then, she'd been into Hogsmeade to visit with her cousin and have a butterbeer, played exploding snap with Marion during her free period after James had gone to transfiguration, and seen Cynthia Carmichael's potion explode in class. She didn't see how she could reasonably have been expected to remember what she was doing before dinner.

Scorpius was already there when they arrived. He looked as they sat down across from them. "Get caught yet?" he asked.

Rose smirked and shook her hair back. "Of course not." She took out her arithmancy book and started her homework.

Other than a few whispered questions, they worked in silence. When Rose saw the clock hit six, she started to put her books away.

Scorpius and Albus looked up. "Is it six already?" Scorpius asked.

Rose shrugged. "I'm hungry. I didn't eat lunch. If you both want to keep working, go ahead, but I need to eat something."

She was not surprised when Scorpius immediately began to pack up his bag. She was also not especially surprised when Albus waved them off. "I'll be down in a little while, I need to finish this assignment first."

As they left the library, Rose said, "I'm still not sitting at the Slytherin table, you know."

"I remember," Scorpius said dryly. "We'll just walk down to the Great Hall, and I'll leave you to enjoy dinner with your narcissistic teammates." She stopped, and he looked at her, clearly realizing a moment too late that he'd said something very out of line. "I didn't mean—"

With difficulty, she managed to restrain herself from taking out her wand. _"Don't_ insult my teammates," she snapped. He opened her mouth, and she took a step closer, pointing a finger at his face. "No, I don't want to hear any of your stupid excuses. You don't have to like them, but if you can't keep your damn mouth _shut_ about them, you can just sod off right now."

He swallowed. "I wasn't thinking."

She shook her head. "I don't _care_ what you think of them, I don't _care_ how true it is, they're my friends and I love them and I'm _not_ going to stand here while some _snake_ has a go at them!"

His face colored. "Don't call me names, _Red."_

"Then don't insult my friends, _snake."_

Scorpius closed his eyes for a minute and took several deep breaths. When he opened them, he looked a little calmer. "Fine. I'm sorry I called your friends names." She didn't say anything, and he added, raising his eyebrows, "This is the part where you also apologize for calling me names."

"Fine," she said shortly. "I'm sorry I was nasty to you. Even though you deserve it."

He rolled his eyes. "I guess that's a start," he muttered.

"You don't even understand," Rose said angrily. "You're judging people without even knowing them."

He leaned against the wall. "Are you joking?" he asked. "Al's brother—"

"_Use his name."_

Scorpius stopped for a moment. "Fine. _James_ never even _tried_ to get to know me before deciding I was an obnoxious git. Go tell _him_ not to judge people without knowing them."

"James is terrific," she snapped. "James is one of my favorite people in the world. He's _always _there for me, whenever I need _anything._ When I was failing astronomy first year, James would stay up all night helping me on my homework. When I was worried about not being good enough for the team, when I first joined, James helped me practice even when he had other things he needed to do. When I just want to give up and not do my schoolwork because I'm tired and I don't care, he convinces me not to go to sleep and to finish it, because I'll regret not doing it later. A few times I've actually fallen asleep _doing_ my schoolwork, and he's finished it for me. Oh, and that map you were so impressed by? It belongs to James, not Al, and he _always_ gives it to me if I ask for it. So shut your _mouth_ about James. You don't understand _at all."_ She stopped, glaring daggers at Scorpius.

He was looking rather taken aback. "Look," he said, slowly, clearly choosing his words very carefully, "I'm not saying he's not good to you. I'm just saying he's always been awful to me."

"I don't care. You keep your mouth shut about James, about my entire family, or I'm never speaking to you again," she snapped.

"Will you please just calm down?" Scorpius asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. She tried to half-heartedly to shrug them off, but he did not step back. "I'll keep my mouth shut about your family if you'll keep your mouth shut about mine, okay?"

"I haven't said almost _anything_ about your family," she said irritably.

"Great. Let's keep it that way." When she nodded reluctantly, he brushed his lips against her cheek. "Look, I'm sorry, but do you understand _why_ I feel the way I do?"

"No," she said defiantly.

"Close enough," he muttered. "Come on. I'm getting hungry, too." As they started walking again, he asked, "Do you want to do this again tomorrow?"

"Fight?" she asked, though she knew that wasn't what he meant.

"No, work in the library before dinner," he said, grinning.

"I can't," she said. "I have Quidditch practice."

"What about after Quidditch practice?"

Rose thought for a minute. "No," she decided. "I might need help on arithmancy or defense against the dark arts, and James and Marion hate the library."

He nodded. "Fair enough. What about Thursday afternoon?"

"I can't," she repeated. "I have Quidditch practice."

"Again?"

"Well, yes. The game is coming up. We need to be in top form."

He sighed. "And that night, you're also going to be doing work in the tower, right?"

"I don't know. Probably." She frowned. "Is that a problem?" He didn't respond, and she groaned. "Scorpius, seriously, what do you _expect?_ I'm on the team, so yes, I'm going to spend some time practicing. And that would be true whether you were my boyfriend or not," she added quickly.

He did not look like he was especially pleased with that, but after a moment, he said, "All right, then. How about Friday?"

"Probably. Look, we have at least one class together a day, can't we talk about this Thursday or Friday?" she asked.

"Fine." He closed his eyes for a minute, and then added, "I'm sorry, Rose. It really is fine. I don't want to be creepy or possessive."

Rose didn't respond at first, but after a moment, she reached out and grabbed his hand. "It's okay. If not Friday, we'll do _something_ Sunday, I promise. But it might just be schoolwork."

"You know," he commented, "you send really mixed signals sometimes. 'Chase me, but here, let's hold hands and snog, oh, and did I mention, you won't see me for another four days.'"

"I did tell you that you would have to chase me," she pointed out.

She looked at him, and was relieved to see him grinning. "You did," he admitted. "So, with your game coming up, I suppose that means you'll be having practice a lot."

"Of course," she said, surprised. "Doesn't your team practice more when a game is coming up?"

"Sure, but not _that_ much." He stopped her as they approached the stairs. "Since I'm apparently not going to see you for the next two weeks…"

"Oh, don't exaggerate—" she was starting to say when he leaned in and kissed her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and was kissing him back very enthusiastically before she'd quite realized what she was doing.

After a moment, he broke away. When she felt his lips on her neck, the protest she was about to voice turned into a whimper.

"Admit it," he murmured, "this is a pretty good incentive."

"Well, yes," she gasped, "but on the other hand, you are giving it away for free, so I'm not all that pressed to decide."

"If you say so," he said, and pressed his lips to hers again. She could feel the hand he had on the small of her back begin to drift down.

Then she heard James.

"Rosie, Rosie, Rosie," he called from the end of the corridor. "I thought you had some _sense._"

Scorpius' hand slid back up very quickly, and she could see the tension on his face as she dropped her arms and turned around to face her cousin. He was left with his hands on her stomach, and he made to move them away. She put her hands over his to keep them in place.

He didn't struggle, but she could tell that he was wishing he were anywhere but there.

Roxanne, who was right behind him, was clearly enjoying herself. "Seriously, Rose. I mean, a _corridor?_"

"Haven't we taught you _anything?"_ James asked.

"You know at least half a dozen passageways where the only people likely to bump into you would be _us,"_ Roxanne said, grinning as they neared Rose and Scorpius.

"And yet you choose a _corridor."_ James shook his head. "Haven't we taught you anything, Rosie?"

"Yeah, Rosie."Roxanne put on a very hurt expression, and Rose rolled her eyes. "I thought we'd been such _good_ teachers."

"It was nice to feel like someone actually appreciated us and our secrets," James added. "My brother certainly doesn't, he's no fun."

"Oh, please," Rose laughed. "Hugo and Lily appreciate you _and_ your secrets _plenty._"

"Well, yeah," James acknowledged with a shrug, "but they're unfocused. Young. Immature."

"We just thought we could expect better from you." Roxanne shook her head in disappointment.

"We're going to be honest," James started.

Roxanne finished his thought. "You've _really_ let us down."

Rose grinned and said in a tone of mock-remorse, "I'm _so very _sorry."

James reached out and ruffled her hair. "Live and learn." He looked past her at Malfoy. "Hello, Malfoy. Enjoying groping my cousin?"

Rose looked up at Scorpius, whose face was rapidly going red. "Yes, actually," he said, and she was impressed to hear that his voice was quite steady.

Roxanne leaned against the wall and began playing with a few of her braids. "If you shag him, you'll definitely want to use a passage," she said, off-handedly.

Rose could feel her face start to go red, too. "Thanks for the tip," she said.

James rolled his eyes, but did not comment on Roxanne's advice. Instead, he made to go for his wand, which was sticking out of his pocket.

Rose looked up at Scorpius, and was not surprised to see him flinch.

James grinned without taking his wand out. "So, Rosie," he said, looking back at her. "How would you rate Mr. Malfoy's snogging abilities?"

"James, I'm not discussing this with you!"

"Oh, you'll discuss it with us later, let him hear what you think of him. Full disclosure and all."

Scorpius shifted slightly. "You know, I'm kind of interested to hear this. You have to admit, it's only fair, you can't seem to stop eavesdropping on me. This is sort of similar."

Roxanne snorted. "Good girl, Rosie." She paused to consider it, and then added, "Well, except for getting caught."

"Oh," Rose said, knowing that she needed to say something, "I suppose he's all right."

James smirked. "It didn't look like you thought that he was just all right when we were back there. To tell you the truth, it looked like you were rather enjoying it." Rose heard Scorpius let out a muffled snort, and James looked up at him. "Oh, by the way, Malfoy," he said, "I just want to commend you."

When it was clear that James was not going to say anything more, Scorpius reluctantly asked, "About what?"

"Well, for not going for her chest," James said. "I've heard about how much you seem to like it, so the restraint is admirable."

"Probably wise, too," Roxanne added. "Groping a girl's chest is strictly fourth date material."

"Following her around on patrol doesn't really count as a proper date," James told him.

To Rose's surprise and relief, Scorpius laughed. "You know, it would seem like you both were unnaturally well-informed if I didn't know about that map. I expect you used it to find us tonight."

The corner of James' mouth twitched. "I would never use such a power for such a petty thing," he declared.

"Yeah, what kind of people do you take us for, exactly?" Roxanne added.

"What _possible_ reason could we have to wander down a deserted corridor and interrupt our cousin like this?" James asked Scorpius.

"That depends," Scorpius said dryly. "Were you interrupting her, or me?"

James grinned. "Well… I'd have to say both, wouldn't you, Roxanne?"

"Definitely both," Roxanne agreed.

"We're very capable of multitasking, you know," James told them.

"After all, time is galleons, ickle fifth years." Roxanne straightened and pushed her braids back. "Well, now that we've corrected your conduct, we'll be going downstairs, I think."

James nodded, and made for his wand again. This time, Scorpius' hand twitched toward his own, but before he could pull it out, James had actually pulled his out and pointed at Scorpius. Rose raised her eyebrows at him, and he grinned again and pocketed it.

"Just joking," he said. He and Roxanne started to walk down the hall, and after a few paces, he turned around and began walking backwards as he pointed a finger at her and called, "Don't make us come find you again, young lady!"

Roxanne turned to face them, too. "Especially not in a _corridor,_ I mean, _really."_

They hurried off, laughing.

After a moment, Scorpius relaxed. "That was… interesting. I thought they were going to curse me."

"Oh, they were just having a bit of fun," Rose said dismissively.

"Yes, I realize that now, as I'm not cursed." He sighed. "I suppose we'd better get downstairs."

Rose turned back to face him and put her arms around his neck again. "Oh, I think we can wait a few minutes."

"You do?" he murmured, leaning in.

"Yes," she breathed, and met his lips with hers again.

When she slid into the seat next to Roxanne at dinner fifteen minutes later, Albus was already there sitting with James.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Didn't you leave the library before me?"

Rose darted a glance at James, who stretched. "Oh, we thought it would be better to tell him while you were here."

"Maximize the embarrassment, you know," Roxanne added, grinning.

Rose groaned. Albus was looking at her curiously, so she said vaguely, "We got distracted."

James gave her a very disappointed look. "Now, Rosie, is that really accurate?" He looked at his brother and said, "We caught them out at snogging in a corridor."

"Pretty shameful, really." Roxanne poured herself some orange juice and shook her head. "A _corridor._ We were _very _disappointed."

"With so many other options before you…" James shook his head. "I suppose you were just enjoying yourself too much to think about it?"

"Certainly looked that way to me, James," Roxanne said, now serving herself potatoes.

Rose could feel her face burning.

Albus wrinkled his nose. "This is so bizarre."

"Well, Al, on the bright side, I guess your best friends can stand each other now," James pointed out, gulping down the contents of his goblet.

"Fair enough," Albus said. "Just please don't get too embarrassing for me to be around you," he told Rose.

"I'll do my best," she promised. "Talk to him, though, he's the one who can't keep his hands to himself."

Albus winced. "God. I don't need to hear this!"

"I'm just saying."

"You know," James commented, "he's starting to grow on me."

"Same here," Roxanne said, raising her goblet. "Cheers."

"So he's not worth liking when he's my friend, but he is when he's Rose's boyfriend?" Albus rolled his eyes. "Thanks so much, guys."

James and Roxanne both shrugged. "Well, you know. It's easier to ignore your friend when he's not groping our cousin in the corridor," Roxanne said. "We felt we should really make an effort if he and Rose were going to start shagging in random corridors."

Albus looked at Rose. "You were doing _what?"_

"I _wasn't,"_ she protested, looking daggers at Roxanne, who grinned.

"I hate you all," Albus muttered.

James put an arm around his shoulder. "Oh, no you don't, little bro."

Albus grinned despite himself. "No, I really don't."

James ruffled Al's hair. "Admit it. We're good for you. Otherwise, you might start to take yourself too seriously. We couldn't have that."

"No, I suppose _you_ couldn't." Albus rolled his eyes, but Rose could tell that he wouldn't have been able to stop smiling if he tried.

She smiled, too. She really loved spending time with her family.


	25. Pity, Chess, and Winners

**Thanks to pondering, ncislover1111, ErinFabu, PrincessDripDrop, H0RR0Rheart, and BellaCullen1789, me, gwen of masbolle, KittyHawk58, and hi for their reviews!**

**I'm really sorry for the long delay; I've been very busy, and I just haven't had the energy to spend time on the computer when I don't have to. Hopefully, I won't be quite so busy anytime in the near future!**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Pity, Chess, and Winners

As Rose had predicted, she did not have any time to spend with Scorpius Malfoy over the course of the following day. She had a brief conversation with him in care of magical creatures, but when he tried to catch her after class had ended, she sped off with a hurried apology. James had already warned her the night before that he wanted to talk strategy over lunch.

Quidditch was serious business.

Rose knew this, so she didn't complain when James kept them at practice so late that by the time they got to the Great Hall, it was almost empty. Hugo, Albus, and Natalia were waiting for them at Gryffindor table, and as Rose slid in between Hugo and Albus, she felt a rush of affection toward the people in her life.

After dinner, they parted ways with Talia and trudged up to Gryffindor tower, where Rose, Albus, James, and Roxanne spent a good part of the night doing homework. They were among the last people in the common room to go to bed, and when Rose woke up Thursday morning, she felt exceptionally unhappy to be facing another day with six classes and no free time.

She ate breakfast with the minimal communication possible with the people around her, but managed to get through potions competently enough. When she got to transfiguration and Scorpius greeted her with a smile, it was all she could do to keep from groaning.

He looked a little taken aback. "Are you okay?"

"Just a little tired," she said, yawning widely.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to ask you if you're free tonight." She blinked at him, completely uncomprehending, and he sighed. "You _are_ tired, aren't you?"

Rose put her head down on the desk. "Wake me up when class starts," she told Scorpius and Albus.

While they did wake her up, she spent half of the lesson in such a haze of exhaustion she probably wouldn't have known the difference if she'd stayed asleep.

The best thing that could be said about the rest of the day was that she managed to wake herself up enough to pay attention in arithmancy and ancient runes, and that charms and herbology did not exactly lend themselves to falling asleep.

After another long practice, a hurried dinner, and a late night of doing schoolwork, she fell into bed feeling completely exhausted. The sun came up far too quickly, and as she trudged down to care of magical creatures after breakfast, she found herself resenting the good weather. Why couldn't it have been sunny and warm when they'd had practice?

When Rose arrived at class, she found Natalia talking with Albus and Scorpius. Feeling distinctly wrong-footed, she joined them.

As she approached, Natalia looked up, and flashed a quick grin. "I took pity on him. Seeing as how you're so busy with Quidditch at all, I thought I'd make it easier for him to talk to you."

Rose smiled back. "That was kind of you."

"I thought so," Natalia agreed.

"He's been pining away, actually," Albus told her.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Hardly. I hate you, have I mentioned?"

"Frequently." Albus turned his attention to his cousin. "How was practice yesterday? I'm sorry I didn't wait around with Hugo and Natalia, but I had a lot of work to do and I was so exhausted."

Rose shook her head. "No, don't worry about it. I understand. Practice was fine. Long, but fine." She reached into her bag to take out her book, and the sleeve of her shirt got pushed up, revealing a dark bruise on her arm.

She heard both the boys suck in their breath sharply, and she rolled her eyes at Natalia, who was clearly amused by their reaction.

"What is _that?"_ Scorpius asked distastefully.

Albus knew Quidditch far too well not to know what _that_ was, but he still added, "Rosie, that looks really nasty. Have you seen Madam Pomfrey?"

Rose pulled her sleeve back down and shrugged. "It's a _bruise,_ Scorpius," she said, her tone as patient as it would have been if she were talking to a small child. "Sometimes, bludgers hit you. They are not typically very gentle about it. And no, Albus, I haven't. What's the point? I'm _fine._ You know I've had worse."

Albus knew better than to push it. He rolled his eyes and said, "I like Quidditch, but this is why you'll never get me to play when there are bludgers involved."

Scorpius was clearly still struggling with the concept. "Bruises like _that_ are _normal?"_

"Well, this is a particularly nasty one," Rose admitted, "but you definitely end up with bruises sometimes. Part of the game."

"You should see some of the bruises Annie and Tyler get," Natalia said. "A bludger even broke Annie's arm once. During their match with Ravenclaw last year."

"I'd forgotten that!" Rose exclaimed. "I was so glad she didn't quit after that. I mean, what a thing to happen in your second game."

Natalia shook her head. "No, Annie's tough. I knew she wouldn't let that phase her. Tyler was more bothered than either of us were, actually."

"Oh, I know." Rose rolled her eyes. "I thought Roxanne was going to punch him."

"I thought she did," Talia said, frowning.

"No, she just hit a bludger at him with what some might call indecent enthusiasm." Rose grinned. "She's not subtle."

Scorpius looked bemused. "You know, if this is how you all treat your friends, maybe I've been taking it all a little too personally."

"Not from James, you haven't," Albus said. Rose shot him a disgusted look, and held his hands up apologetically. "Rosie, I'm not saying I don't love my brother, but he _has_ been a jerk to Scorpius since we started school."

Rose decided to ignore him, and turned back to Natalia. "Anyway, I think James gave them both a talking to, because that was the end of it."

"I know he talked to Annie," her friend replied. "She was really proud when she told me that the captain had made a point of telling her what a good job she did and how impressed he was with the way she handled getting injured."

"Does your brother—" started Scorpius, and Rose gave him an even more disgusted look than she'd given to Albus. Scorpius paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Does _James_ just not care about your sister getting hurt?"

Albus shrugged. "Honestly, James is such an adrenaline junkie that he's just proud that his family can shrug off hits from bludgers."

"That's kind of callous, isn't it?" Scorpius asked.

Rose was starting to get exasperated with his persistent need to see James in the worst possible light. "No, it isn't. He cares. He's just not overprotective. He knows we're capable of looking out for ourselves."

"Are you?" asked Natalia, but she smiled to take the sting out of it. "Come on, Rose, he knows you're capable and also a little reckless."

Albus grinned, too. "My brother knows how to recognize a kindred spirit."

Scorpius was looking distinctly uncomfortable with the idea of Rose being anything like James.

Natalia had clearly noticed, too, because she asked, "Rose, were you telling me that Dominique, Victoire, and Teddy will be meeting you in Hogsmeade the day after the game?"

Albus had apparently noticed his friend's discomfort, too, because he quickly answered, "Yes, they are. It's going to be really good to see them. I'm sure Dominique is going to have a million stories to tell about Welsh Greens and Hungarian Horntails."

"I can't wait to hear them," Rose said enthusiastically. "I really think I've decided I want to end up in either dangerous creatures or dragons, but I can't decide which."

Their conversation was interrupted by Hagrid calling the class to order. After class had ended, Scorpius lingered behind when Albus and Natalia packed up their bags and sped off to muggle studies.

"Don't you have class now?" Rose asked as she started walking slowly up to the school.

He shrugged. "Yes."

She raised her eyebrows. "Were you planning to go?"

"Probably." He frowned, and then said, a little tentatively, "I know you're exhausted and that you've been busy all week, but do you want to do something this afternoon? Even if it's just schoolwork in the library?"

Rose thought about it. "I don't think I'm ready to even think about schoolwork until tomorrow," she admitted. "I'll probably make myself do some tonight anyway, but honestly, I'll spend time with you only if you promise me it _won't_ involve work."

"I think I can do that," Scorpius said, grinning. He leaned in and kissed her cheek and started to turn away. "I should go to class."

She caught his hand and he looked back, an inquisitive look on his face. "Hold on," she said, and drew closer to press her lips against his.

She felt pleased by his very enthusiastic reaction, but when they drew apart, he said softly, "You're not making chasing you very difficult."

"Are you complaining?" Rose asked, running a hand through her hair.

"Just commenting," he said. "I should get going."

She smiled and let go of his hand. "Enjoy class. I'll see you in transfiguration."

Scorpius hurried up to the castle, and Rose followed him at a much more leisurely pace. She typically used free periods like this one to do schoolwork, but she was beyond tired of schoolwork, so she wandered up to the owlery to visit Godric instead.

The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly. She didn't have classes on Fridays that offered any serious danger of drowsiness, and between Lindsay Pritchard blowing up her cauldron again and the nasty bite she got in herbology, Rose was feeling quite awake as she left the greenhouse to meet Scorpius.

He was sitting on the floor of the corridor that led to the greenhouses, and appeared to be completely absorbed in a book. Holly Zeller and Harmony Fleet, who were walking a little ahead of Rose, looked at him, back at Rose, and giggled.

Scorpius looked up. "Hi," he said, putting the book away and standing up.

"Hi," she replied, feeling a little confused.

"Charms let out a little early." He shrugged. "I thought I'd just come down here. Is that not okay?"

Rose shook her head. "No, it's fine, I was just confused."

"I'm feeling a little hurt, Scorpius," she heard Albus call from the end of the corridor. He was walking with Colleen and a Ravenclaw boy Rose had forgotten the name of. "All this time we've been friends, and you've never come to meet _me_ after class."

Scorpius snorted. "I see you plenty, Al," he called back, "and I've also never wanted to kiss you."

"Whereas you've been dying for my cousin to not have Quidditch practice so you can kiss her," Albus replied, coming to a stop in front of them. "I get it. I get it. I'm feeling ignored and abandoned, but I expect I'll get over it," he said, heaving a dramatic sigh.

Rose stuck her tongue out at her cousin as Scorpius said, "I have every faith in you."

"I cannot tell you how much I needed that vote of confidence," Albus replied, smirking.

Colleen winked at Rose before they departed. When she looked at Scorpius, she was amused to see that his face had gotten a little red.

"Embarrassed to be seen with me?" he asked, a little sardonically.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Very."

They started walking. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

She thought for a moment. "Would you play a game of chess?"

"You like chess?" Scorpius looked taken aback.

"I'm full of surprises," she said dryly. "Would you?"

"I'll go get my set. Where do you want to play? The library? Some secret passage that no one but your cousins know about?" Rose looked over at him and saw a small smile.

"We could." She chewed on her lip as she thought. "We could also play in the room of requirement."

"Sure," he said very quickly. Rose raised her eyebrows, and he widened his eyes innocently. "It's just a good idea. I have no expectations of any physical contact at all."

Rose shook her head. "I'll see you there." She headed up to Gryffindor tower, and was glad to see that most of her yearmates, including Albus and Colleen, had not returned.

On her way up to her dormitory, she bumped into Marion.

"How's the bruise?" Marion asked. "It looked nasty last night when we were changing."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "It's a little painful, but I've had worse. How are _you_ feeling? You looked like you were falling off your broom by the end of practice."

"I was," Marion admitted. "I'm actually off to take a hot bath before dinner. Hopefully that will help the aches."

"Enjoy," Rose said. They smiled at each other, and Rose continued up the staircase as Marion continued down. She grabbed her set, and set off for the room of requirement.

When she got there, Scorpius was already there. The room was very similar to what it had been when he and Albus had wandered in on her enjoying a quiet cup of tea.

"Can I trust you not to poison me?" she asked as she sat down across from him and a mug of tea appeared in front of her.

Scorpius grinned. "Do I have anything to get you back for?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then yes, you can trust me not to poison you," he said. "It would be rather stupid. My hair's finally back to the right color, and I tend to think it might make you less inclined to go out with me."

Rose started setting up her chess pieces. "Good instincts."

"The sorting hat seriously considered putting me in Ravenclaw, you know." When she looked up, she saw that he was grinning.

"You've mentioned," Rose said.

"Well, I thought I'd remind you. After all, the sorting hat didn't consider putting _you_ in Ravenclaw." He started setting up his pieces, too, still grinning.

She smiled back, and then threw a pillow at him. He batted it away and laughed. "We'll see who's smarter than who after I win this game."

"If you play chess the way you go through life, I don't have anything to worry about," he said playfully.

Instead of answering, she directed one of her knights forward.

Rose was very good at chess. She was used to winning; it had been years since anyone but her father had beaten her, and since he'd given her and her brother his set to use at school, she felt very confident.

Fifteen minutes later, she felt less confident. Scorpius was putting up a very good fight. She finally managed to feint him into a checkmate, but was left with fewer pieces on the board than she'd been left with in awhile.

He sat back. "You _are_ good."

Rose smiled. "Thank you. So are you. You almost had me."

"Almost, but not quite," Scorpius conceded with good humor.

She immediately liked him more for it. "Do you want a rematch?"

He shook his head. "Not just now."

"Do you want to do something else?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I would certainly be willing to do something else." He mirrored her expression.

"Good."


	26. Bones, Brothers, and Boyfriends

**Thanks to gwen of masbolle, H0RR0Rheart, and Kittyhawk58 for their reviews! As always, I appreciate it, and again, I apologize for the long hiatus. The updates should continue to be fairly frequent.**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Bones, Brothers, and Boyfriends

When Rose and Scorpius arrived in the Great Hall later that afternoon, she spotted Albus sitting with Noah at the Slytherin table.

Scorpius grinned. "Do you want to join us?"

She snorted. "As if. I'll sit at the Slytherin table the day I give up Quidditch and decide that my life's ambition is to join my cousin in the Department of Magical Transportation."

"Harsh," he said, whistling. "If you feel that negatively about Slytherins, maybe you should stop kissing one."

"Oh, shut up," she snapped. He laughed, and she and made her way over to the Gryffindor table.

As she slid in next to Roxanne, she heard Tyler saying, "Honestly, James, if it's pouring again tomorrow I'm going to use a snackbox to get out of practice. I've only just properly gotten dry."

"I won't use a snackbox," Marion said, grinning at James. "I'll just break my arm. A Chaser can't play with a broken arm."

James scoffed. _"You_ wouldn't dare," he said to Tyler. "If you do, I'll tell Fred—you know, _our old captain_—never to sell anything to you again." Tyler groaned, and James turned his attention to Marion. "And breaking your arm would just be a stupid way to get out of practice, Madam Pomfrey can heal that in about a minute."

"You would know," muttered Rose.

He reached around Roxanne to punch her arm lightly. "Don't hate me because I'm not afraid to break bones to win a game."

Roxanne rolled her eyes at Rose. "James, half the time you break bones because you're goofing off. When was the last time you actually broke a bone in a Quidditch game?"

"Last year's match with Slytherin," he said promptly. "My ankle."

Tyler laughed. "That was quick."

"I remember all of my broken bones." He smirked, and ran a hand through his hair and Rose could have sworn that he shot a quick glance toward Marion. She resisted the urge to smile.

When was the last time you broke a bone, then?" asked Tyler.

"Over the summer. I fell off my broom and broke my wrist." James ran a hand through his hair again. This time, he definitely glanced at Marion, who looked a little surprised.

"You'd think you'd lose track after awhile." Tyler shook his head. "Or learn to be more careful."

James shrugged. "I can take the pain. Anyway, I just consider it good training for my career in dealing with dangerous creatures."

Rose looked at Marion, wondering what her reaction to that kind of statement would be, and found that she was just laughing along with Tyler and Roxanne.

"God, James," Roxanne said, "even _I'm_ not that reckless."

He grinned. "No," he agreed, "you're not. You do the joke shop, and I'll go get my hair scorched off by dragons. We need some sane people in the family."

She raised her eyebrows. "Clearly, yes, we do."

James shrugged. "Oh, well, the kind of sanity you're talking about it would just bore me. Anyway, Rosie's with me, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," Rose said immediately. "What's life without a few bruises and broken bones?"

He beamed. "Hey, Roxanne, you can go be a Healer at St. Mungo's, and treat all your cousins when they come in disfigured with burns or curses. That would be fun, wouldn't it?"

"James, you can be so morbid sometimes," Marion said. She was still smiling, but some of the mirth had left her eyes.

"Why?" he asked. "Because I know what the dangers of my profession are going to be and don't play denial?" His voice had gotten a little combative, which Roxanne had clearly noticed. She was giving him a puzzled look, and it occurred to Rose to wonder whether or not James had talked about Marion to Roxanne.

Marion looked calm, but when she spoke, her voice was a little heated, too. "No. Because you can joke about yourself and people you care about being seriously injured."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" James snapped. "Go crazy worrying about half my family? Everyone knows the risks. You don't see V or Teddy quitting their jobs just because of a trip or two to St. Mungo's, and you won't see me doing it, either."

Tyler and Roxanne were starting to look distinctly uncomfortable.

"This is why I would never go out with you," Marion retorted. "Like I'd want to be in and out of St. Mungo's every other week because you did something stupid—"

"Stop it!" Rose said loudly, as James opened his mouth to respond. They both looked at her. "You're both being stupid. Just shut up and calm down."

Marion glared at one of the plates on the table, and James crossed his arms, looking sour.

"Or you could go find some secret passage to go… work it all out," Tyler said suggestively, clearly trying to break the tension.

Roxanne grinned. "Come on, Mari, stop pouting."

Rose reached around Roxanne to nudge James, wishing she was sitting next to him. He glanced over, and she said, "Calm down. Don't get like this."

He looked down at his plate and began to eat.

After a minute or two of silence, Tyler said, "So we're not getting out of practice if it's raining hail tomorrow, then?"

"Definitely not," James confirmed, forced into a grin.

"If I let a bludger break my arm, will you like me better?" Marion asked, looking up from her food, a small smile on her lips.

James stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment, and then laughed. "Marion, I don't think I need to like you anymore than I do now."

She didn't answer, but went back to her food with a small smile on her lips.

"Would anyone play a game of exploding snap after dinner?" Rose asked.

James raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't you have schoolwork to do?"

She groaned. "Come on, James, you're joking, right?"

Roxanne shook her head. "Rosie, you don't want to get to Sunday and have all of your work to do, and you know you're not going to want to do any after practice."

Rose sighed. "I'm so tired of work."

"Welcome to O.W.L. year," Tyler said gloomily.

Marion smiled sympathetically. "Come on, Rose. Let's just get a little work done, and then we'll play."

"I suppose I _should_ get some work done." Rose frowned down at the food on her plate. "I don't mind it usually, but I'm just so exhausted."

"So go to bed early tonight," Roxanne suggested, starting to eat.

"I plan on it," Rose said, following suit.

Rose managed to get her charms and ancient runes work done before she declared herself done with work for the night. James threw down his quill with gusto, and after a few minutes, Albus, Marion, and Roxanne did the same. After the second game, Rose headed up to her dormitory, knowing that she had a long day ahead of her.

The next day dawned drizzly and damp, but despite Tyler's worst predictions, the weather did not get worse as the day went on. By the time they were heading back out onto the pitch after a quick lunch, the sun was peeking through the clouds, and the rain had stopped.

Perhaps because of this, the team was feeling downright cheerful as they headed back up to the castle late that afternoon, despite aches from being on a broom for most of the day and bruises from bludger hits.

Roxanne had been right; Rose was not in any mood to do work. She knew that the next day was bound to be terrible if she didn't, but couldn't find it in her to care. Instead, she enjoyed a nice long soak in the bath before heading downstairs for dinner.

As she settled herself among Albus and some her yearmates, Colleen leaned forward. "So what's going on between you and Scorpius Malfoy?"

Rose groaned. "Oh, I _just_ got out of practice a little while ago. Do I have to talk about it now?"

Colleen nodded without missing a beat. "Yes. I don't know when I'll have another chance to interrogate you, you're usually sitting with James and the others."

"You _could_ sit with us," Rose said, for what she felt was probably the hundredth time.

As always, Colleen shook her head. "No, I couldn't."

"They'd be perfectly friendly," Albus said, frowning. "They're really not intimidating at all."

She shrugged. "Whatever you say." She turned back to Rose. "So?"

Rose grimaced. She'd hoped they would get sidetracked. "It's not a big deal."

Holly Zeller turned to Albus. "He's _your_ friend. Do _you_ know what's going on?"

Rose inwardly groaned. The last thing she needed was Holly latching onto her relationship with Scorpius. Holly was a decent sort, but she could be very silly, very giggly, and very gossipy.

Albus shrugged. "No idea. No one ever tell me anything," he said blandly.

Rose rolled her eyes at Damien, who was looking very bored. "Does it really matter?" he asked. "Or were one of you thinking of asking Rose out?"

She snorted, and Colleen and Holly both shot him a dirty look. "You're not the least bit curious?" Holly asked incredulously.

"No, I'm not," he said. "And I don't see why you are." They both scowled at him, and he asked Rose, rather more loudly than he had to, "How was practice?"

"Good," she said. "Long, though. I'm glad we have tomorrow off. I don't know how much longer I could sit on a broom without wanting to die."

After dinner, Rose headed back upstairs with her yearmates and settled in next to the fire with Albus, Colleen, Damien, and Christopher. Colleen had mercifully decided to drop the subject of Scorpius Malfoy, though Rose knew that it would only be a matter of time before she brought it up again. They were discussing the latest wins and losses of their favorite Quidditch teams when James climbed through the portrait hole and slumped in one of the armchairs. Rose nudged Albus and jerked her head toward James.

He frowned and stood up. "Be back in a few minutes," he told the others as he headed over to his brother. Rose followed him. "I wonder what's going on with him," Albus said quietly.

Rose didn't answer, though she thought she might have a good idea of what the answer to Al's question might be.

James looked up as they approached. "I didn't do it," he said immediately.

"Didn't do what?" Albus asked suspiciously as they settled into the chairs on either side of James.

"Whatever you think I did," his brother said promptly.

Rose and Albus both just stared at him, until eventually he shifted and said, a little irritably, "Oh, fine. I've just had a bit of a row with Roxanne."

"_Why?"_ Albus asked, clearly completely caught off guard.

"She thinks I should talk to Marion," James said, running a hand through his hair. "I told her I wouldn't."

"Talk to Marion about what?" Albus was still clearly left in the dark.

Rose sighed. "He fancies her."

Albus continued to look confused for a moment, and then he yelped, "You _do?"_

James groaned. "Thanks, Rose." He looked at Albus. "Well, yes."

"So ask her out," Albus said. "I'm sure she'd say yes, I bet she's fancied you for ages."

"Out to where, exactly?" James asked.

"Just, you know… out…" Albus trailed off.

James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, exactly. This Hogsmeade weekend is for family, and our next one isn't until Halloween. That's a month away, and I'm not asking anyone out a month before the actual date."

"But what if she finds someone else?" Albus asked.

"She won't," James said confidently, looking bored.

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

Albus looked from James to Rose. "I don't understand how either of you can be so damned confident," he said.

They shrugged, and James said, "Acting confident is a huge step in that direction, little brother."

"It's like with wild animals," Rose added. "You just can't show them that you're scared."

James laughed. "Someone very wise told her that once."

Albus rolled his eyes. "You?"

"Who else?" James grinned, and ran a hand through his hair again. Rose hid a smile, and she could tell that Albus was doing the same.

"It'll work out, James," Rose said. "Roxanne's probably just annoyed because… well, you didn't tell her, did you?"

He shook his head unconcernedly. "I didn't see a need to."

"I guessed that," Rose said. "She's probably miffed because of that as much as anything."

"Probably," James agreed, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back. "Oh, well."

"Wait," Albus said. "If you told Rose, why didn't you tell _me?_" He looked a little irritated.

"Rose caught me out at it," James said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have told her, either."

Albus made a disgusted sound. "I'm your _brother."_

"You're right," James said. He reached into his bag and tossed Albus a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "A token of my appreciation." Albus rolled his eyes, and James added, "Come on, Al. You know I love you."

"Not that that means that you ever talk to me," Albus muttered.

James groaned. "Al, really?" Albus continued to look stony, and Rose felt a little guilty. "Look, I just don't want to put you in an awkward situation when I tell you something that you don't approve of." Albus didn't reply, and James said, "Look, if it would make you feel better, I promise that when I shag Mari, you'll be the first person I tell about it."

"Don't you mean 'if?'" Albus asked.

"Nope," said James blithely. "I mean when."

"Do you want me to promise that if I shag Scorpius, you'll be the first person I tell?" asked Rose, grinning.

Albus buried his head in his arms. "Why am I related to you people?" he asked, his voice muffled. "I say that I feel left out because you never talk to me, so you decide to promise to talk to me about your sex lives? That wasn't exactly what I meant."

"Oh, wasn't it?" James asked innocently. "Sorry." He paused, and then said, in a more serious tone, "Seriously, Al. I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to feel awkward."

Albus looked up. "I've just been feeling left out lately," he admitted. "I'm overreacting.

Rose knew that an enormous part of his feeling left out was because of the situation with Scorpius, and cast her mind around for a way to cheer him up. "Well, if you skive off muggle studies on Tuesdays, you can go visit Fred with us," she suggested.

"I've got a few more snackboxes," Albus said thoughtfully. "Sure. Why not?"

"Terrific," James said. He looked at Rose as though he'd just forgotten something. "Hey, Malfoy was in the library a little while ago. He asked me if I'd seen you."

Rose frowned. "Oh?"

James shrugged. "I have no idea why. Or why he was asking _me._ But there you have it."

Rose got up. "I should go see what he wants," she said, still feeling confused.

"Probably."

Rose exited the portrait hole, feeling very curious.


	27. Captains, Seekers, and Slytherins

**Thank you to H0RR0Rheart, ErinFabu, MalfoyMaiDeN, CaptainSlow, gwenofmasbolle, and sherbetgirl for the reviews. As always, I appreciate it!**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Captains, Seekers, and Slytherins

When Rose reached the library, she saw Scorpius sitting at a table with Noah and Claire MacDougal. Ignoring the part of her that was a little disgusted with the idea of being alone with a group of Slytherins, she joined them.

"Hello," she said. They all looked startled by her appearance.

Scorpius recovered first and smiled at her. "Hi. How was practice?"

"Oh, you know," she said. "Exhausting, but all right."

"I still can't believe that James Potter will keep you at it all day," Noah said, shaking his head. "It isn't as though you're awful and really need the practice."

Rose shrugged. "That's how we got good in the first place. Fred made us practice a lot, too. At any rate, Lily and Annabelle only joined the team last year. They _do_ need the practice."

"Right," Noah said, snapping his fingers. "I keep forgetting that Creevey played Seeker for a year before Lily joined. For some reason I always think of her as starting right after Stimpson left."

"Well, Tristan is nice, but he wasn't a very good seeker. I _try_ to forget he was on the team." Rose wrinkled her nose. "Thank god it was only for a year. Lily's good. She's not quite up to Amber's standard yet, but I think she'll get there."

"Ready for the game on Saturday?" Noah asked.

"We'd better be. Dominique is coming, and it would be a bad show if we lost our first match when she found the time to watch." Rose gazed out the window and sighed. "The weather is looking like it's going to get terrible again. I hope it doesn't rain all week."

"Well, with Emily Bones gone, Hufflepuff shouldn't be so hard," Claire said. Noah made a very skeptical noise, and she turned to him. "What?"

"Well, Bones was a good seeker," Noah said, "but she wasn't the best. It's not like losing Hannah Ackerly for Ravenclaw. And I've seen their replacement play—King, from fourth year—and she's not bad. She's not Bones, but she's not bad."

Rose leaned forward. "I know King and Mallory are the only new players, but I don't know much about either of them. For some reason, the Hufflepuffs are reluctant to talk about their Quidditch team with me."

"Imagine that," Scorpius said dryly.

She shot him a smile, and continued. "Do you know anything about Mallory? About the only thing I know is that he's a third year, and that according to my brother, he's kind of quiet."

Noah looked around the nearly-deserted library, and said quietly, "I do, actually. I've seen a couple of their practices. Honestly, he's good. He works well with Kirke and Spinnet. Better than Whitby ever did, to be honest. He probably makes up for King not being as good as Bones." Rose groaned, and Noah gave her a curious look. "I didn't think you all actually worried about losing at Quidditch."

"Of course we do," Rose said, surprised. "Or, not worry, precisely, but we take it seriously. We know we're not just the guaranteed winners."

"Huh." Noah leaned back. "That's… interesting."

Claire shrugged. "Ashleigh's not confident enough yet as a captain to keep us on our brooms for the entire day, even though we could probably use it."

"Tell the competition all our secrets, why don't you, Claire," Noah said, but Rose could hear the humor in his voice.

"Rose's surprising show of modesty aside, we're not going to beat them." Claire rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not trying to be pessimistic, Noah, but they're the only ones who didn't lose some of their best players last year. It'll take _time_ to replace them."

"True enough," Noah admitted. "At least we're basically guaranteed to beat Ravenclaw. They're in awful shape."

"Well, you can't just replace Cat Carmichael and Hannah Ackerly," Rose commented.

Claire and Noah nodded their agreement. "All the better for us, though, isn't it?" Claire pointed out. "They'll be easy to beat."

Rose shrugged. "I suppose. I think it's more fun when you have to work for it." She looked over at Scorpius, realizing that he hadn't said very much. He was smiling. "What?" she asked, feeling self-conscious.

"You're having an actual conversation with a group of Slytherins," he pointed out. "Voluntarily. I'm proud of you."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and turned back to Noah and Claire. "So who's left your team, then?"

All three of them grimaced. "Kitty," Scorpius said.

Rose winced. "I'd forgotten she was graduating. That's too bad. I liked Kitty."

Scorpius's eyebrows shot up. "You _knew_ Kitty?"

"Of course I did," Rose said loftily. "I make it a point to get to know people my cousins go out with."

"Do your cousins generally take the same approach?" Scorpius asked warily.

"Of course they do."

"Terrific," he muttered. Rose could tell that he was not relishing the idea of getting interrogated by all of the Weasley cousins.

She ignored him and pushed her hair back. "Kitty was really decent. She was always friendly with us, even after the break-up. James liked her, too," she added, feeling as though that decided the matter.

Scorpius looked even more surprised. _"James_ found it in him to like a _Slytherin?"_

"Well, she's worth liking." She smirked. "Anyway, he likes Noah okay, too."

"_He does?"_ asked Scorpius and Noah together.

"Yes," Rose said, tapping her fingers on the desk impatiently. "Have you found a decent replacement for Kitty, yet?"

Claire and Noah hesitated and looked at each other. After a moment, Claire looked back at Rose. "Honestly? No."

"Bad luck," Rose murmured. "Who did she end up signing with?"

"The Harpies." Scorpius sighed. "Well, she's starting out first string, anyway. That's some consolation."

Noah groaned. "Let's stop talking about our team. It's too depressing."

Rose gave him a startled look. Claire noticed and said, "He'll probably be made captain next year—"

"You don't know that," Noah muttered.

Claire waved her hand at him impatiently. "Oh, you will be, you've been on longest and you're the best of us. Anyway, Jaclyn and Ashleigh are graduating at the end of this year, and replacing them is not going to be easy, especially right after losing Kitty."

Rose sighed. "Yeah, I'll probably be in that boat seventh year. We'll be losing more than half our team."

"Well, new blood isn't a bad thing, is it?" asked Scorpius. She shrugged again, and after a moment, he added, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but why are you here?"

Rose frowned. "James said you were looking for me."

Scorpius looked rather taken aback. "He _told_ you?" When she opened her mouth, he added quickly, "That was ages ago, I assumed he'd… forgotten." Rose gave him a suspicious look, and he shrugged disarmingly. "I was just wondering if he knew where you were."

"Right here," she said. "Why were you looking for me?"

He sighed, and looked at Claire.

Rose was starting to feel very confused when Claire asked, tentatively, "Is Albus okay?"

She blinked, completely caught off-guard. This was not at all what she'd expected when James had told her that Scorpius was looking for her. "Yes, of course," she said. The three of them kept looking at her, and she frowned. "He'll be fine."

"That's not really the same thing as yes," Noah said.

"Why don't you ask him what's wrong, then?" Rose said, shrugging.

Scorpius shrugged. "I did. He said he was fine."

Rose tucked her hair behind her ears, considering. After a minute, she said, "Look, he mentioned something to me, but if he didn't tell you, he probably didn't want you to know. I know that you're just asking out of concern, but he'll mention it when he wants, or not."

The three Slytherins didn't speak for a minute, and then Noah said, "Fair enough. He is all right, though?"

"He's fine," Rose confirmed. "Why? Has he been acting that strange?"

"Well, not to put too fine a point on it," Scorpius said slowly, "but yes. He's just been quiet and disengaged from everything for a couple days. It's not like him at all."

"He's fine," Rose repeated. She would have to find some time later to subtly tell Scorpius not to stop talking to Albus about his feelings, even if they involved Rose. She hadn't noticed any changes, but she'd been so busy with practice and schoolwork over the last few days…

Based on her conversation with him before she'd left for the library, however, she thought she had a pretty good idea of what was causing it.

Albus wasn't good at being excluded.

It wasn't that he needed to be in the center of attention; he didn't. He didn't need to be part of everything, either. He had a lot of friends. He couldn't be with all of them all the time.

However, he didn't like feeling shut out, and Rose knew that he was feeling that way now.

She believed him when he said that he wanted her to be happy. She knew that he wanted the best for his friends, and that he would be completely supportive of her and Scorpius if they ended up going out.

She supposed that it was also only natural that he'd feel a little left out and confused about what it meant for his friendship with each of them.

That coupled with the fact that she, James, and Roxanne had probably gone a little overboard with not telling him about rule-breaking they thought he might not approve of was probably more than enough to make him feel the way he had been.

Scorpius was studying her. "You're sure?"

"Absolutely." She looked up at the clock. "It's getting late. I should be getting back to my common room."

As she got up, he asked, "Do you want to study with me in here tomorrow?"

Rose frowned. "Probably not. I work better in the common room, and I don't trust you not to try to distract me."

Scorpius grinned. "If you change your mind, you know where I'll be."

"I do," she said, smiling back. On impulse, she leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Bye, then."

When she straightened up, she was gratified to see that his face had reddened slightly. "Do you mind if I walk you back?" he asked.

Despite her best efforts, Rose could feel her face getting hot, too. "Sure," she said, and then added hastily, "I mean, yes, of course you can."

She could see Noah and Claire exchange amused looks, and as Scorpius got up hurriedly, Noah said, "We'll take your books back to the common room if we leave before you get back."

"It's fine," Scorpius said, starting to gather them up.

"No, really." Noah had a wicked smile on his face. "How would you possibly… what was the term James Potter used earlier, Claire?"

"I believe he said some something about our good friend Scorpius having his hands all over Rose," Claire said, smirking.

Noah snapped his fingers. "Right, that. Anyway, you might find it hard to have your hands all over her if they were also full of books."

Scorpius groaned. "I hate you both." Rose waved to them as they turned to leave. Scorpius appeared to be doing the best he could to pretend they didn't exist.

"That was… friendly," Rose commented as they left.

He shrugged. "Well, that's how Noah is."

"Not Claire?" Rose asked curiously.

"Well, not really," he said. "She's never been a fan of yours. She thinks that you're—"

"Arrogant?" Rose offered. "Infuriating? Vindictive?"

He rolled his eyes. "All of the above. But she's willing to give you a chance. Especially because she can't have James Potter showing her up."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, and they walked for a short time in silence. Just as she was about to open her mouth to repeat the question, he said, "All right. I still think that he's been unnecessarily nasty to me for the past four years and that he's full of himself, but he _has_ been trying to be friendly lately."

"Oh." That felt like a rather inadequate reaction, but she wasn't sure what else to say, and she did not feel inclined to open her mouth just for the sake of it.

Scorpius gave her a curious look. "Has he not mentioned that?"

"No," she said. "He hasn't."

"Well, he has been," Scorpius said. "Roxanne, too, actually. Mostly by politely acknowledging my existence, but it's a real improvement. I'll take it."

Rose felt a rush of gratitude toward her cousins. "So no Slytherin wants to be shown up by a couple of obnoxious arrogant Gryffindors?"

"None of _my_ friends, at any rate." He paused, and then asked, "Neither of them has mentioned that _at all?_"

"No," she said, as they approached the stairs. "Why is that so surprising?"

"I'd have thought they'd want the credit for it." He shrugged. "I would. Claire's made it clear that she wants credit for it."

"Oh, well," Rose said, flipping her hair back, "maybe that's how you do things in Slytherin, but in Gryffindor, we don't _need_ credit for doing what's right by our friends and family."

She peeked a look at Scorpius, who rolled his eyes. "Right. Anyway, would you be willing to tell me—just me, and I won't tell anyone else—what's going on with Al?"

Rose bit her lip. "He's just feeling a little left out."

"Oh." Scorpius sighed. "Damnit."

"Just…" she paused for a moment, composing her thoughts. "I guess he just wants us to talk to him. Even if he doesn't necessarily like what we're saying."

"I usually do," Scorpius said, clearly taken aback and a little insulted.

Rose shook her head. "It's more my fault than yours, honestly." She came to a stop.

He looked around in confusion. "What?"

"This is as far as you come," she said. _"I'm_ not going to show you where our common room is or give you the password."

"I guess that's fair." He kissed her. "I'll… see you, then."

"Bye." She waited for him to turn the corner before making her way to the stairs that would lead her up to the common room.

When Rose she climbed through the portrait hole, James was sitting alone at a table in the corner. He looked up as she approached.

"What did he want?" he asked.

"He and his friends were worried about Albus. Apparently, he hasn't been himself," Rose answered, sitting down across from him. "Where _is_ Albus?"

"He went to bed early." James marked his spot in the book he was reading and put it aside. "He'll be okay. I told him to write to Dad."

Rose thought about that for a moment, and then said, "That was smart."

James grinned. "I know."

She looked past him toward the fireplace, where Marion was watching Roxanne and Tyler playing chess. "You haven't talked to them, then?"

He didn't turn around. "I've been working," he said, tapping the book.

"You've been doing schoolwork after spending all day on a broom?" she asked incredulously.

"Did I say that?" James asked, leaning his chair back. "It isn't schoolwork. It's for my own personal enrichment."

Rose picked up the book. "_Dreadful Denizens of the Deep_?" she asked as she began to flip through it.

"Yeah," James said, putting his hands behind his head. "I told you, I'm going into Dangerous Creatures after I finish here, and I'm going to be ready." He grinned. "Also, it's just interesting."

"You've decided on that, then?" she asked, still looking through the book.

"Basically," he said. "I'll give Dominique her chance to go on about dragons next weekend, and maybe she'll change my mind, but V's been convincing."

"She's not trying to convince us," Rose said, closing the book and handing it back to him. "Can I borrow that when you're done?"

"Sure," he said, putting it back on the desk. "And I know that she hasn't been trying to, but she's been doing a damned good job nonetheless."

"She has," Rose agreed. "So you haven't talked to them?"

James rolled his eyes. "No. I haven't. It's not really them, anyway, it's mostly just Roxanne. Tyler's not fussed about my love life, and Marion only cares because it involves her."

"I'm sure Roxanne only cares because it involves Marion," Rose pointed out.

"Fair point." he shrugged. "She still needs to stay out of it. It's my business."

"Good luck with that." Rose yawned. "I should call it an early night."

James picked up his book. "So should I. I'm exhausted."

Rose supposed that it wasn't very surprising that they were both so tired, considering how much time they'd spent on brooms in the last few days. When she got into bed a short while later, she fell asleep almost immediately.


	28. Jinxes, Letters, and Thestrals

**Thank you to ncislover1111 and gwen of masbolle for their reviews!**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Jinxes, Letters, and Thestrals

As she had expected, Rose did not have the time to see Scorpius Malfoy the next day. While she would have liked to, she thought that she would appreciate the good night's sleep much more than a couple hours with a boy she wasn't even actually properly going out with.

By the time she awoke on Monday morning, Holly and Caitlin had already gone down to breakfast, and Colleen was putting her books in her bag.

Rose sat up and rubbed her eyes. Colleen looked over at her. "Finally awake?"

"Is it really that late, or are you lot just up that early?" Rose asked, getting out of bed and pulling some clothing out of her drawers.

"Holly and Caitlin got up early. I think I heard them saying something about ambushing your cousin, but I'm not sure."

"Which cousin?" Rose asked blearily.

Colleen smirked. "Albus."

"Well, good luck to them with that." Rose couldn't wait to tease him about it. "Which of them wants to ask him out, then?"

"Holly, I think."

Rose pulled on a pair of shoes and got up. "Come on. I can't wait to see his face."

They hurried down to the Great Hall. Albus was sitting with Damien at the near end of the table, and when Rose and Colleen slid in across from them, she could see that his face was bright red.

"Holly Zeller corner you, then?" Colleen asked, the corner of her mouth twitching.

Albus groaned. "Leave me alone," he said as he served himself bacon. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Did you break her heart?" Rose asked, giggling.

"I told her no, if that's what you mean."

"Oh, Al." She shook her head. "Come on. What's not to like?"

"She's nice enough, but she's so vapid," he said, starting to eat.

"You're such a snob," Rose accused. "So she doesn't think very much. What's the problem?"

Albus gave Rose a disgusted look. "You're hilarious. Why _me?"_

"You're probably just cool by association," said a familiar voice, and James slid in next to Rose. "I'm pretty amazing. People must be under the mistaken impression that you are, too."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Good morning to you, too," he said dryly.

James grinned. "Morning," he said cheerfully. "You can do better than Holly Zeller, anyway."

"_You_ knew about it?" Albus asked, dropping his fork. "Why didn't you _warn_ me?"

"Where's the fun in that?" asked James. He ruffled his brother's hair. "I knew you'd handle it all right."

"He stood there and stammered that he was sorry but just didn't think so," Damien said.

James raised his eyebrows. "Well, then, you could have handled it _better_," he conceded, "but that's hardly the point."

"Do you have a point?" Albus began to eat again.

James served himself breakfast and began to eat. "Do I ever?"

"Occasionally." Albus looked at Rose. "Well, Rosie, since you're making fun of me…"

"Oh, no." She knew what was coming.

Albus grinned wickedly. "How are things with Scorpius? Have you acknowledged the fact that you're dating, yet?"

"We _aren't,"_ Rose snapped.

"Really? What do you call all of that snogging you've apparently been doing?" Albus asked.

Rose looked away. "Oh, shut up."

He snickered, but was distracted before he could say anything else by the arrival of the post. Both he and James had received letters from home, and while James stuffed his in his bag to look at later, Albus tore his open and began to read.

"Any important news?" James asked lazily as Rose put the note she'd just received from her parents in her pocket without reading it.

Albus looked up. "Read your letter if you want to know."

James shrugged. "I'll read it later." He turned to Damien. "You're commenting on Saturday, right?"

"Yes," Damien said. "Do you think we have a chance of winning? I don't want to comment a game where Gryffindor is losing."

James shook his head mournfully. "I don't think we have much of a chance at all, to tell you the truth."

They all laughed. Rose noticed that Colleen seemed to be laughing especially hard, and as they left for herbology a few minutes later, she asked, "Do you fancy my cousin?"

"Albus?" Colleen looked a little taken aback.

"James."

"Oh." Colleen paused, and then shook her head. "Not _really._ I never know what to say around him. He's too intimidating to _really_ fancy."

Rose didn't know quite what to say to that. "Oh."

"He's just funny, is all," Colleen said. "Don't worry. I go after people who are attainable."

"Oh," Rose repeated, feeling as though she should probably try to mention Tyler. "Do you have someone in mind, then?"

"Oh, no." Colleen shook her head. "No. I am not talking about that with you unless you talk about Scorpius Malfoy with me."

Rose snorted. "Maybe later," she said, as they entered the greenhouse.

Later that morning, she was sitting on the grass with Natalia as they waited for care of magical creatures to start when Scorpius joined them. Her first impression was that he was wearing a bizarrely-textured green hat, but at closer glance, she realized that his hair had been turned bright green.

She and Natalia both let out loud involuntary laughs.

He gave them a withering look. "Thanks."

"What _happened?"_ Rose asked, still giggling.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Your cousin."

"I have a lot of cousins," Rose pointed out as Albus sat down with them.

"Yes, you do," Albus agreed. "What—oh, that's not a hat, is it?"

"No," Scorpius said irritably. "It's definitely not a hat."

Albus smirked. "Who did it?"

Scorpius glared at the grass. "Well, I know who did it. _Unlike last time,"_ he said pointedly, and Rose shrugged, keeping her face supremely innocent. "Your brother stepped out from around a corner when I was on my way here and jinxed me. I'm not sure whether it was supposed to be a warning or a friendly gesture."

"Probably both," offered Rose, Albus, and Natalia at the same time.

"Well, at least it's green instead of red, anyway," Rose said cheerfully. "That's what you wanted, right?"

"I _wanted_ to keep my hair blond," he said irritably, "but I suppose this is much better than that red, and he said this would take less time to fade."

"Did you try to jinx him back?" Albus asked.

Scorpius gave him an exasperated look. "Of _course_ I did," he said. "But it didn't work, probably for the same reason I couldn't jinx Rose. He just laughed and walked away."

Rose smirked. "It's good to have cousins."

"Yeah, well, I don't have anywhere near as many as you do," Scorpius said, "which I think puts me at a disadvantage. Also, all of my cousins are prefects, which puts me at a _bigger_ disadvantage."

She stared at him. "_All_ of them?"

He shrugged. "Well, I don't _have_ that many."

Rose could not imagine not having an enormous family full of people who loved her. It seemed deeply depressing. "Well, the green hair isn't my fault, at any rate," she said after a moment. "So you can't get back at me for it."

"I wasn't planning on it." He grinned. "I wasn't even planning on trying to get back at him."

"Why?" Albus asked curiously.

"I know when I'm beat," Scorpius said simply. "Start a jinx war with James Potter? I know I'd lose, I'm not stupid."

"Better be careful," Natalia said, throwing Rose an amused look that said that she knew exactly what her friend was thinking. "Rose doesn't understand the idea of picking your battles. She might be rethinking your relationship."

"Has she admitted that we _have_ a relationship?" he responded, leaning back and staring up at the sky. "I wasn't aware of that."

As Rose tried to think up some appropriate response to that, something moved out of the corner of her eye. She looked up at the sky without thinking, and saw a thestral swooping above the trees of the forbidden forest.

She looked down very quickly. Neither Albus nor Natalia, who were now discussing O.W.L.s, had noticed. Scorpius was still looking at the sky, looking supremely unconcerned.

As they were leaving care of magical creatures an hour and a half later, however, he said in an undertone, "Who did _you_ see die?"

Rose started. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do," he said persistently. "You saw the thestral."

"What thestral?" she asked. "Anyway, then, who did you see die?"

Scorpius shrugged. "My great-grandmother. It was a couple years ago."

"I'm sorry." It felt insignificant, but she wasn't sure what else she could say.

"It's all right," he said, glancing at her. "She'd had a long life, and she'd been sick for awhile. Thanks, though." He paused, and then added persistently, "Who did you see die? I know you saw the thestral."

Rose pushed her hair back, not quite sure what to say. "I didn't see any thestral," she repeated, though she doubted that would stop him asking.

It didn't. "Kind of like you have no idea who turned my hair red?" he asked.

"Kind of like," she admitted after a moment.

"Who?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Rose said, and then sighed. "Basically, James and I were somewhere we weren't really supposed to be, and consequently saw something we weren't really supposed to see." He opened his mouth, and she said quickly, "Albus doesn't know anything about it, so don't ask him."

Scorpius closed it, looking curious. "This is kind of like how I'm not supposed to ask how you know that people show up on that map of yours even when they're wearing invisibility cloaks, isn't it?" She nodded, and he sighed. "Fine."

As they approached the Great Hall, he made to walk inside. When she didn't follow him, he looked back. "I have a letter from home I want to answer," she said. Leaving him to eat, she went up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, which was predictably deserted. She continued up to her dormitory, packed the books she would need for that afternoon's classes, and flopped onto her bed to read the letter.

Ten minutes later, she was on her way back down the stairs. To her surprise, the person she was looking for was sitting alone at a table.

"Did you write to my parents?"

James looked up from _New Strategies for Dark Creatures_. "Sorry?"

"Did you write to my parents?" Rose repeated.

He rested his head on his hand. "Yes."

"What did you _say?"_

"Does it matter?" he asked, looking back at his book.

Rose stared at him for a moment. "James, I'm serious. What did you say?"

He sighed, folded over a corner of a page, and closed the book. "I wrote home, too. I wanted their advice about whether to go into dragons or dangerous creatures."

She laughed. "James, you're a 6th year. You have time to figure it out. You couldn't wait until Christmas?"

He grinned and leaned back in his chair. "Nah. I'm not patient enough."

"Fair enough." Rose could understand that. She slid into the seat across from him. "But I know you said something about me."

He shrugged. "I just said that Malfoy's not awful and they shouldn't worry."

"Oh," she said. She wasn't sure what to say. "Why did you need to say anything at all?"

"Because Al wrote home, remember?" She shook her head, bemused, and James rolled his eyes. "Rosie, Al wrote home to Dad about how he's been feeling now that his two best friends seem to be getting involved. I assumed Dad might mention it to your parents. So I thought I'd add something in my letter first."

After a moment, Rose asked, "Did they respond?"

"Yes. They both gave a lot of good advice about my dilemma. Your father also told me that I'd better be right." He paused, and then grinned at her. "I just wrote back and told him of course I was right, I was never wrong."

Rose giggled, and then sobered. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "It's no problem."

"They mentioned it," she said, holding up the letter she'd just finished reading.

"How?" James leaned back, looking interested.

"Mom told me she was proud of my finally learning to look past house lines, and Dad told me he was disappointed that it wasn't a Gryffindor and doubly disappointed it was a Malfoy."

He snorted. "Of course they did. Anyway, I'm sorry, I just didn't see you rushing to do it and was kind of doing damage control."

"No. It's fine. Thanks." She sighed and put her head in her arms. "Now I have to figure out how to answer this."

James picked up his book again. "Well, start writing. I'll read it when you're done, if you want. I'll rate it based on how likely it will be to get you a Howler."

Rose took out a quill and twirled it in her fingers as she thought about what exactly she wanted to say.


	29. Quidditch, Bitterness, and Slytherins

**Thank you to ncislover1111, DeadRosePetals, and gwen of masbolle for their reviews. As always, I really appreciate it, and will appreciate any more.**

**Sorry this has taken so long-the site has been glitching out and wouldn't let me upload new chapters.**

**Enjoy! – Beeezie**

Quidditch, Bitterness, and Slytherins

Rose had never really gotten on well with most Slytherins. However, it seemed to her that whenever she passed any of them in the halls, she was the subject of a lot more stares and mutters than she usually was. By the time she reached history of magic at the end of the day, she was fairly sure that she wasn't just being paranoid. Her confidence in this assessment was strengthened by the cool way one of the Slytherin girls she'd never had a conflict with before thanked her when Rose held the door to the classroom open for her, and she slid into the seat next to Albus feeling thoroughly irritated.

Hey," she hissed to Scorpius, who was sitting on Al's other side.

He looked over at her, his eyebrows raised inquisitively.

"Is there any reason everyone in your house is looking at me like I killed their kitten?"

Upon hearing this, Albus abandoned his doodles and turned his head toward Scorpius to hear his answer.

Scorpius rubbed his forehead, looking slightly uncomfortable, but was given a reprieve by Binns floating into the room through the chalkboard. "After class."

He and Albus spent most of the lesson playing hangman. As Rose struggled to follow the drone Professor Binns never seemed to deviate from, she resolved that neither of them was going to see her notes. If they failed their O.W.L., it was their own fault.

When class had ended and everyone else had filed out, both she and Albus turned expectantly to Scorpius.

"Well?" Rose asked.

He sighed. "It's because of the Quidditch game coming up."

Rose could see her confusion reflected in her cousin's face. "Why should that matter?" Albus asked. "We're not even playing Slytherin."

"Well, no, you're not," Scorpius said slowly, "but there are still some hard feelings about the Cup last year, and most of them are really hoping to see Gryffindor flattened by Hufflepuff."

"Thanks for the support," Rose snapped.

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't say _I _was hoping that. I said that most people in my house are."

"Why?" Albus asked, frowning.

Scorpius bit his lip, his gaze drifting up toward the ceiling. He was clearly trying to gather his thoughts. Just as Rose was about to tell him to just say whatever he wanted to say already, he looked back at them. "Albus, you know Kitty Roshan, right?"

"Of course," Albus said. "I make a point of knowing the people my cousins date."

"Right." Scorpius looked vaguely amused. Rose suspected that it was because of the similarity of Al's response to her own a few nights before. "Well, Kitty was…" He stopped, frowning, and then started again. "It's fair to say that Gryffindors worship James, right?"

Rose and Albus looked at each other, and after a moment, Albus reluctantly turned back to Scorpius and nodded. "I don't know if I'd say _worship,_ exactly," he said, "but yes."

"Well, Kitty was that for Slytherins," Scorpius said. "And it rankled that she never won the Cup as captain because you lot kept getting it. Last year she _should_ have had it, except that you scored right before Noah caught the snitch." His voice got slightly more heated. "We would have won if there was a tie, and he didn't even _know_ that you'd scored until he looked at the scoreboard. It was _seconds_ before he caught the snitch. We _should_ have had the Cup."

"You're not bitter at all, are you?" asked Albus sarcastically.

Scorpius shrugged. "Yes, I'm a little bitter. I'm tired of Gryffindor winning the Cup, and I wish Kitty had won it at least once."

"We won fairly," Albus said, a little defensively.

"You also won narrowly." Scorpius shook his head. "There are still a lot of hard feelings about that. Without Kitty, we can't win the Cup, but most of them are hoping that you don't, either."

Rose and Albus were quiet for a moment, and then she said, flatly, "That's stupid."

"It is," Albus agreed. "We were outplaying you. We were 150 points ahead when Noah and Lily saw the snitch. We have a great _team,_ not just one great player—"

"I _know,_" Scorpius cut in.

"You'd have done the same thing," Albus added, talking over him. "Anyone would have done what Rose did, and she _always_ does that, your keeper should have been ready—"

"I _know,_" Scorpius repeated. "I know. Kitty said the same thing about fifty times before the end of the year. It just didn't stick."

"Why not?"

Scorpius hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Some people seemed to think that Kitty couldn't be objective."

"Why wouldn't she be able to be objective?" Rose exchanged an incredulous look with Albus.

"Because so many of you are Weasleys." Rose and Albus continued to look confused, and he sighed. "Dominique."

Rose stared at him. "They broke up over a year ago!"

He shrugged again. "Yeah, well, Dominique moved on a lot quicker than Kitty." When Rose opened her mouth, he said hurriedly, "That's just a _fact,_ Rose, and you know it."

"Only because Dominique mentioned it once or twice. What, did Kitty share all of her innermost feelings with _you?"_

Scorpius looked as though he would rather be anywhere but in that conversation. "I overheard her talking to Evy, but I didn't need to. Everyone knows that."

"That is _so_ typical," Rose muttered, rolling her eyes.

He raised his eyebrows. "What's so typical?"

She could tell she was treading into dangerous waters, but she found herself too irritated to care. Albus frowned, but didn't say anything, even though he had to know where this was heading. She took that as encouragement. "For Slytherins to react like _that._"

"Thanks," Scorpius said coldly. "I'm so sorry that we can be a little focused on achievement and self-preservation. If only we were more like the Gryffindors. Being arrogant and judgmental and reckless is so much more attractive in a person."

Rose smirked. "Apparently. You're chasing after a Gryffindor, after all."

"Hark who's talking." His eyes were still narrowed, and he had a rather nasty kind of smile on his face. "You talk up a storm about how Gryffindor is best house, and yet…" he trailed off, and she could feel her face flush.

Before she could respond, Albus cut in. "You both need to shut up." They looked at him, and he added, "Especially you, Scorpius."

Scorpius looked outraged. "You're taking _her_ side, even though she said—"

"Yes, I am," he said calmly. "She needs to stop it, and she'll realize that once she calms down and _you_ stop baiting her, but given how stupid that grudge is, it's fair that she be a little annoyed."

Rose had no interest in getting involved with this, so rather than engage, she took a few deep breaths, hoping to ease her temper a little.

"What a shock," Scorpius muttered.

Albus shook his head. "That's a really stupid reason to act this way, especially given that _you_ won a Quidditch game by scoring just before someone caught the snitch, too. I'm not saying that because I'm a Gryffindor or because Rose is my cousin. I'm saying that because I have a brain."

"I didn't say I thought it _was_ fair," his friend snapped. "But—"

"And, while we're on the topic," Albus added, his voice still calm, "I'll thank you to remember that _I'm_ a Gryffindor, too, and I'm perfectly happy with it." He hesitated, and then added, "I _chose_ to be in it, and I've never once regretted it. I don't think I'm particularly arrogant or judgmental." He grinned. "Maybe a little reckless, though."

Rose's slight irritation with her cousin for interrupting her vanished. None of what he'd said was news to her, but she didn't think he'd ever told anyone outside of her, James, and his father. He certainly hadn't told Scorpius, who had been completely diverted from his anger and was staring at Albus.

"You _chose_ to be in Gryffindor?"

Albus nodded. "Yes, I did."

"I always just assumed it stuck you there." Scorpius shook his head. "Why would you _choose_ Gryffindor?"

"Because, shocking as it might be, I _do_ value courage and nerves," Albus said, uncharacteristically running his hand through his hair in exactly the same way his brother did. Rose had to work to hide a smile. "I just don't show it as much as some of my family does right now." He shook his head at his friend's dumbstruck expression. "I _told_ you I wanted to be an Auror," he pointed out. "I don't see why it's so shocking that I'd value those traits."

"You don't have to be a Gryffindor to be an Auror," Scorpius said, still apparently very confused.

"No, you don't," Albus agreed. "But I wanted to be in Gryffindor. My brother was in Gryffindor, and so was Roxanne, and I _knew_ that's where Rose would end up. I value those traits. So I chose to be in Gryffindor."

"You mean you could have been in _Slytherin?" _Scorpius asked, looking even more shocked.

"Did I say that?" Albus asked mildly. "The hat was between two different houses. I chose Gryffindor."

"What was the other option, then?" his friend demanded.

Albus ran his hand through his hair again, and this time, Rose couldn't hide a smile. "Hufflepuff." He looked at Rose. "What?"

She shook her head. "You're doing that thing with your hair that James always does."

He started. "Am I?" he asked in surprise. "I _never_ do that."

"You do it sometimes," Rose said. "Just not very often."

"I _do?"_ Albus asked.

"Yes," Scorpius agreed. "You do. Not very often, but you do. I notice it, because it always throws me."

Albus blinked a few times, clearly disconcerted. "I didn't know that." He shook himself, and brought the conversation back to its original topic. "You have to admit that their reasoning is really stupid."

"_I know,"_ Scorpius said tiredly. Al's revelation seemed to have dampened his irritation dramatically. "Rose, Albus, I know. You asked me why. That's why. Kitty was worshipped by almost everyone in my house. They're just…" He trailed off and shrugged. "Look, I didn't say _I_ felt like that."

"Do you?" Albus asked suspiciously.

Scorpius shook his head. "No. I hated the Gryffindor Quidditch team for my own reasons."

"You just used past tense," Rose pointed out.

"Intentionally," he said dryly. "Believe it or not, I'm feeling much more favorably disposed to your team now that everyone I disliked on it has stopped being quite so unfriendly toward me."

"I _told_ you," she said, smirking.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I think that you all might have redeeming characteristics. My previous opinion is still largely intact."

"I'd better have redeeming characteristics." Rose got to her feet. "I need to go. I have work to do before dinner, and right after dinner I have practice."

"You think you might find it in you to root for Gryffindor, Scorpius?" Albus teased as the three made their way toward the door.

"I think I _am_ rooting for Gryffindor." When Albus and Rose looked taken aback, he shrugged. "I don't especially care about anyone on the Hufflepuff team, and it seems unsporting to root against Gryffindor when they're all making an effort to, you know, be friendly."

"That's… sweet," Rose said after a moment. She kissed his cheek."

When she and Albus reached the turn that would take them to the staircase to Gryffindor tower, he turned. "I'll talk to you later, Scorpius."

"Are you both irritated with me?" Scorpius asked. "Because that would be stupid."

"A little," Rose admitted. "But I'll get over it by the time practice is done."

Albus shook his head. "Not at all."

As they were turning the corner, Rose remembered something. "Oh, by the way, Scorpius," she called over her shoulder. He turned, and she said, "Don't be too surprised if you get some interesting mail at some point."

He looked positively alarmed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled and waved. "Bye!"

As she and Albus hurried away, Albus asked, "What kind of interesting mail?"

"James may or may not have mentioned him in a letter to my parents," Rose said.

Albus looked surprised. "He did _what?"_

"I actually have a letter I need to send home about it," she remembered. "The note I got from them today mentioned it."

"Give it to me," he said, looking amused. "I'll send it off while you're at practice. I assume it was because I wrote home to dad, and James wanted to head any howlers off?"

"Maybe."

He was quiet for a few minutes. As they climbed through the portrait hole to their common room, however, Albus said, "His face was priceless."

Rose giggled. "Yes. It was."

"What was priceless?" a familiar voice called. Rose and Albus looked toward it, and saw James and Marion sitting at a table close to the entrance doing schoolwork. They joined them.

"Have you both been getting excessive nastiness from Slytherins lately?" Albus asked them.

James grinned and leaned back in his chair. "I don't know what excessive means. I think most Slytherins consider me their least favorite person in the school."

Marion smirked. "That's true enough." She frowned for a minute, and then said, "Yes, come to think of it. I remember thinking that it was a little strange, since we're not playing them, but I assume they're still bitter about the Cup last year."

"They are," Albus said. "Apparently, they think we won unfairly and that Kitty telling them to lay off was just because she was pining after Dominique."

James and Marion both stared at him for a moment, and then James said, "That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard."

"That was what we said," Rose assured him.

"Good." James ran a hand through his hair. "Whose face was priceless, then?"

"Scorpius," Albus explained. "I told him I chose to be in Gryffindor."

His brother smirked and said, "His face would be priceless hearing that, wouldn't it?"

Marion, on the other hand, looked surprised. "Did you?"

"Yes," Albus said. "I could have been a Hufflepuff."

The front legs of his chair thudded onto the ground, and James reached across the table to ruffle Albus's hair. "He knew that Gryffindor was where all the best people were."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Yes, James. That was exactly it."

"We all know you want to be just like me," his brother said airily.

Rose, Albus, and Marion exchanged a look. "God forbid," Rose and Albus said.

"James, one of you is already more than the world can take," Marion told him.

He grinned. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"I _think_ I meant it as one," she said, smiling back.

Rose and Albus exchanged a look, but neither of them felt daring enough to actually say something. Instead, they both began to work on their history of magic essay that was due the next morning.


	30. Seeking, Beating, and Dominique

**It has been forever since I updated. I am sorry. I was writing a thesis for my degree, and that ate my soul. Now the thesis is done, so that is no longer an issue, and I can update to my heart's content. I'm almost done with chapter 31, which will probably be the last, and then I have a fic about James that I've started that I'll probably post shortly after I finish this one.**

**Enjoy, and again, sorry for the delay.**

**Beeezie**

Seeking, Beating, and Dominique

When Rose walked by the Slytherin table the next morning on her way to breakfast, she was greeted by scowls and jeers.

"Have I mentioned that I hate Slytherins?" she snapped as she sat down across from James.

He jerked his head toward Albus. When she followed his gaze, she saw Scorpius sitting on his other side. "You have," he said dryly.

"Just thought you'd like to know," James said. "But I agree."

"Right now, I kind of do, too," Scorpius said irritably. "If I have to hear one more time about what a terrible person Rose is and how I'm setting myself for a fall by going out with her, _I'm _going to turn someone's hair red."

Albus sighed. "Even _I'm_ starting to agree," he admitted. "This is just ridiculous."

Over the next week, Rose was glad that she had her shield charm necklace. She knew for a fact that both Leona Goyle and Travis Flint had tried to use a stinging jinx on her, and that Leslie Zabini had used jelly-legs on Annabelle before Lily had managed to acquire a shield charm for her as well.

Rose did not find this very amusing. James, Roxanne, and Tyler, however, seemed almost to be enjoying it. According to Scorpius, the Slytherins had come downstairs Thursday morning and discovered that their common room had turned into a swamp, and just before dawn on Friday, they'd been woken up by a loud set of fireworks that had somehow made their way into the common room. They all seemed to blame the Gryffindors, but no one seemed to have any plausible explanation for how a Gryffindor could have gotten into their common room twice in the space of a day, especially after the password had been changed.

By the time they were walking down to the pitch on Saturday morning, Rose was glad to be able to just play the game. Pranks were one thing, but she found mind games to be thoroughly irritating.

When the team entered the changing room, they found a thin, elegant-looking woman with silvery blond hair sitting on one of the benches. When they came in, she rose.

"Dominique!" Rose, James, Roxanne, and Lily cried. They rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug.

She laughed, and as they stepped back, she said, "Hi. Good to see that you've missed me."

"Of course we have!" cried Roxanne.

As James nodded vigorously, they heard a voice behind them.

"Haven't missed me, though, have you?" They whirled around, and saw Fred leaning against the wall next to the door. He was grinning.

"Fred!" Roxanne rushed toward her brother and threw her arms around him.

He laughed. "James and Rosie keep sneaking out of school to see me, but you haven't joined them once. Sibling devotion, huh?"

"I have ancient runes on Tuesday afternoons, and skipping it would be a bad idea," she told him.

"Would it?" Fred shrugged. "I never took it. You're the one with the brains. I just blow things up."

When Roxanne stepped back, Lily flung herself at him. "Fred!"

"Hi, Lily," he said, hugging her back. "I heard about the mayhem at dinner a few weeks ago. I was very impressed."

She smiled shyly. "Thanks."

Fred and Dominique were probably the only two people in the world who could make Lily shy at all. Rose wasn't really sure what made them so intimidating to her, but she'd long since learned that she wasn't likely to come up with a good explanation on her own.

"How are the new classes going?" he asked.

"I can't wait to tell you about them," Lily said eagerly. "Everyone keeps making fun of me, but I really like divination."

"My friend Hannah always did, too," Dominique said, giving Lily an encouraging smile.

"Lexy hated it," Fred commented, "but Lex never had the patience to think about the future, anyway. Still doesn't, as a matter of fact."

Rose turned back to Dominique. Her hair was now chin-length rather than falling halfway down her back as it had when Rose had seen her last. She was also sporting a thick bandage on one arm and a bruise on her cheekbone, but somehow looked even more radiant than usual.

"Burn?" Rose asked, indicating the bandage.

Dominique looked down at it, and then back up at Rose. "Welsh Green," she said, her smile getting wider. "It's a good story. I'll tell you about it later."

"Jealous," moaned James. "Hey, if I took some polyjuice—"

"No, James," Dominique said curtly, cutting him off. He rolled his eyes as she turned toward Marion, Tyler, and Annabelle. "All right, you three? Keeping my cousins behaved?"

"As if we could," Marion said.

Tyler opened his mouth, closed it again, and gave a pained-looking smile.

Dominique shook her head, gave each of her cousins another hug, and headed toward the door. "We'll talk more after the game. Is Albus with the Gryffindors?" Rose nodded, and she said, "We'll go find him, then. Good luck!" Fred waved, and they departed.

When Dominique and Fred had left the room, James shot Tyler a disgusted look. "Really, Tyler?"

Rose looked over at him and saw that he looked a little embarrassed. "I can't _help_ it."

"She's never going to fancy you," Roxanne said, rolling her eyes.

"I _know,"_ he snapped. "Can we please drop it?"

James rolled his eyes, and addressed the team as a whole. "We can do it," he said simply. "Let's go."

As they kicked off, Rose heard Damien's voice, magically amplified. "The Hufflepuffs! Spinnet, Kirke, Mallory, Madley, Vane, Munslow, and King!" There was a roar of applause from the Hufflepuffs, and Damien continued, "And the Gryffindors! Thomas, Weasley, Jordan, Jordan, Potter, Weasley, and Potter!" He paused to let the Gryffindors cheer loudly, and added, "If you're confused, it's okay—sometimes I get confused, too. Here's a hint—they don't play the same positions." There was a murmur of laughter through the crowd. "And they're off! Weasley takes hold of the quaffle! Tosses it to Jordan, who passes to Thomas, who passes back to Jordan. _That's a—_nice hit by Vane and nice dodge by Jordan, who passes to Weasley. Spinnet challenges Weasley, she passes to Thomas, Kirke tries to intercept—nice hit by Potter to throw him off, and Thomas shoots! Nice save by Madley, who tosses the quaffle to Mallory."

The cheer from the Hufflepuffs was deafening.

"Mallory to Kirke to Spinnet to—bludger hit by Potter causes Kirke to fumble, and the quaffle is snatched by Weasley. Munslow hits a bludger at her, she dodges, approaches Madley, shoots—no, wait, that was a pass to Jordan, who scores! Gryffindor takes the lead!"

Now it was the Gryffindors who could not stop screaming. Rose gave Annabelle a thumbs-up as they zoomed away from the rings, and Annabelle grinned back.

"Possession taken by Spinnet, dodges a bludger from Potter, can she dodge the other from Weasley… no, but she passes to Mallory before it hits. _Ouch,_ that looked like it hurt. Mallory to Kirke, who shoots—terrific save by Jordan, who tosses the quaffle back in to Jordan. Jordan to Thomas, Thomas hit by a bludger sent from Vane, but doesn't drop the quaffle. Potter hits a bludger at Kirke, who can't challenge—and Thomas scores! Twenty-zero Gryffindor!"

Marion pumped her fist in the air as they moved back toward the center of the pitch.

"Quaffle taken by Mallory. Weasley hits a bludger at him—nice dodge! Passes to Kirke, who passes to Spinnet, who passes back to Mallory. Potter stopped from hitting another bludger at him by Vane, Mallory approaches the rings—he shoots! He scores!"

The Hufflepuffs were screaming. They'd finished last for two years running, largely due to a string of very bad luck, and Rose knew that they were starved for a win.

"Weasley takes possession. She speeds up, dodges a bludger hit by Munslow—no, wait, was that a dodge?"

It had not been a dodge. The bludger had hit her shoulder, which suddenly felt like it was on fire.

"Well, she doesn't drop the quaffle, anyway," Damien said. "Passes to Thomas, who passes back, Weasley to Jordan, who dodges a bludger hit by Munslow, passes back to Weasley, who avoids Kirke and shoots—no, wait, that was a pass to Thomas, who passes back, and this time Weasley really does shoot—she scores! Thirty-ten Gryffindor!"

Rose grimaced and rubbed her shoulder, but waved to the cheering crowd.

"Quaffle back in to Mallory—was that the snitch?" Damien paused. "King streaks down toward the ground, that _is_ the snitch, Potter won't be able to get there in—a well-hit bludger by Potter forces King to veer off-path, and the snitch is gone again."

There was a moan of disappointment from the Hufflepuffs, but another cheer from the Gryffindors.

"Mallory's taken advantage of the distraction, moves toward Jordan, shoots to the left—no, that was a feint, he shoots to the right—Jordan misses it by centimeters! Thirty-twenty Gryffindor, and Mallory is clearly earning his place on the team!"

Noah had been right; Gage Mallory _was_ good, and he did work much better with Esther and Doreen than Donovan Whitby had done the year before.

"Thomas takes the quaffle and passes to—no, wait, Mallory intercepts and passes to Spinnet, who passes to Kirke, who passes back to—Weasley gets in the way and takes possession of the quaffle. Kirke tries to take it back, but is forced away by a bludger hit by Weasley. Spinnet—too late, Weasley has passed to Jordan. Jordan passes to—no, that was a feint, but Vane's already hit a bludger at Thomas, so there's nothing he can do. Weasley hits the other bludger at Madley, and Jordan shoots—she scores! Forty-twenty Gryffindor!"

Rose zoomed in close to Marion and called, "Are you okay?"

Marion shrugged and called back, "It got me, but I'll live. How's your shoulder?"

"On fire," Rose answered cheerfully. Marion rolled her eyes and directed her broom upwards. Rose followed her.

"Mallory takes possession. He passes to Spinnet. Potter hits a bludger at Kirke before she can pass, but she avoids Thomas long enough for Mallory to catch up—Jordan tries to get between them, but she just barely misses, and Mallory takes possession. He passes to Kirke, who passes to Spinnet, who shoots—_nice _save by Jordan, who kicks it to Jordan.

Jordan. Weasley. Thomas. Weasley. Jordan. Thomas. Jordan. Weasley. Jordan. Thomas. Potter and Weasley are keeping those bludgers occupied by hitting them at each other—interesting strategy, but Vane and Munslow can't get to them to interrupt the Chasers, so I guess it's effective. Thomas approaches Madley, and Potter and Weasley hit both bludgers toward Madley—I don't see how she's going to—Thomas shoots—and an _amazing_ save by Madley!"

The Hufflepuffs were screaming, and Rose had to admit that they had good reason to. That had been an amazing save.

"Spinnet takes possession. Bludger mishit by Munslow forces her to drop it, tough luck. Mallory grabs it and passes to Kirke. Nice hit by Potter forces Kirke to drop it. Thomas takes possession. Spinnet intercepts when Thomas tries to pass to Weasley. Weasley hits a bludger at her, and Weasley takes possession. She—was that the snitch?"

Rose didn't look around. In the distraction that usually followed the appearance of the snitch, she was going to be able to score easily. If Hufflepuff caught it, they'd have a smaller goal differential, and that could matter later. If Gryffindor caught it, they'd have a larger goal differential, and that could also matter later.

"Potter and King both dive toward it," Damien was saying as she threw the quaffle through the right hoop. "Weasley scores, fifty-twenty Gryffindor—and Potter's caught the snitch! That's 200-20, and Gryffindor wins the game!"

After making a victory lap around the pitch, James joined the rest of the team on the ground. "Good job," he said. "Not great. But good." He dodged a smack from Tyler. "Hey, I'm your captain, I'm supposed to be hard on you!"

"Is that what being a captain is all about?" Marion asked. He smirked, but before he could reply, she'd kissed him on the cheek and headed toward the changing room.

His grin got wider. "I told you I didn't have to do anything," he said. "I told you I was irresistible." He didn't manage to dodge Tyler a second time. "Hey!"

Dominique and Fred stopped into the changing room before returning to Hogsmeade to congratulate them on a good game. James, Roxanne, and Rose briefly contemplated sneaking into the village to see them, but they realized fairly quickly that they were unable to be able to sneak off anywhere. From the way their fellow Gryffindors were acting, one might have thought that they'd won the Cup, not just the first game of the season.

Once she really thought about it, Rose supposed that she shouldn't be that surprised. It wasn't just the team that had been getting hell from the Slytherins, after all, and the fact that Gryffindor was starting out at the head of the pack was always a good thing.

This was the first game of the season, and they'd won it. That put them well on the road to winning the Cup again.

And, of course, there was the fact that Scorpius hadn't been wrong when he'd said that Gryffindors loved James.

Early that evening, Rose was sitting with the rest of the team at the center of a large crowd of Gryffindors when Albus came up behind her and murmured, "If you can break away, Scorpius is outside." She looked at him sharply, and he rolled his eyes. "No, he did not hear the password. I came in as Holly and Caitlin were leaving."

"Just checking." She got up. "I'll be right back," she said, though she had no real intention of coming back anytime soon. Even she got tired of this after awhile.

When she climbed out of the portrait hole, she found Scorpius leaning against a wall reading a book. "I wasn't actually expecting you to come out for awhile," he said, looking a little surprised.

Rose shrugged. "I needed a breather," she admitted.

"I thought you might. I just didn't expect it to be right now." He closed the book. "Congratulations."

"How unpopular are you in Slytherin right now?" she asked curiously. "Rooting for the Gryffindors and all."

"Fairly," Scorpius admitted. "Even Claire's been giving me the cold shoulder." Rose wasn't sure whether this was a situation in which she should be apologizing, but as she was trying to figure it out, he laughed. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault."

"Do you see it getting better or worse now that we've won?"

"I don't know." He paused. "Better, I suppose. Now it'll be the Ravenclaws all that hostility will be directed at."

Rose flipped her hair back. _"We_ didn't hassle the Hufflepuffs at all," she said airily.

"Could you possibly sound more arrogant?" He shook his head. "Never mind. I'm sure you could. Do you want to take a walk?"

She hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Sure."

"Are you angry because now I know where your common room is?" he asked as they set off.

"I know where your common room is," she pointed out. "The Map."

Scorpius looked skeptical. "So you weren't behind any of the swamps or fireworks or what-have-you?"

"No. Were you?"

"No. James and Roxanne were." He frowned. "Weren't they?"

Rose shook her head. "Guess."

He rubbed his forehead, clearly confused. "Thomas and Jordan?" She raised her eyebrows, and he sighed. _"Marion _and _Tyler?_" She shook her head again, and he sighed. "Who, then?"

"My brother and Lily."

Scorpius actually stopped dead. "You're _joking."_

She looked back. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"No," he said, beginning to walk again, "but I can't always tell when you are."

"Well, I'm not." She was wondering whether he would challenge her on how exactly two third-years had managed to wreak such havoc.

He did. "So they used Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products, then?" When she nodded, he looked rather satisfied. "I thought so. I didn't recognize that swamp, though, and the portable swamps have been used enough that I should have. Has it actually been released yet?"

"It will be tomorrow."

"That explains that." He paused. "So how exactly did two third-years manage to overhear the password to our common room _twice_ and get in without anyone noticing that they didn't belong?"

Rose shrugged. "Some kind of family secret, probably."

He stopped again and looked up and down the corridor. Even though there was no one there, he lowered his voice. "You _do_ have an invisibility cloak, don't you?"

"Isn't that polyjuice potion a little more likely than that?" she asked coolly. "We can actually brew that, you know."

"Not unless you just have it stockpiled." He shook his head. "Not that I should find that so hard to believe that your cousins _would_, mind, but you didn't use a polyjuice potion to spy on my conversation with Noah."

She felt her cheeks flush. "I told you, that was a disillusionment charm."

"Who cast it, then?" he demanded, crossing his arms.

"You ask too many obnoxious questions," she muttered.

Scorpius smirked. His expression looked rather like James when he was feeling especially pleased with himself. Rose doubted that he would appreciate the comparison. "Think of it as payback for all of the eavesdropping _you've_ done."

Rose scowled. "Fine. Louis cast it."

He looked rather taken aback, and she felt a sense of triumph. _"Louis?_ Your cousin Louis?"

"Are there any others at this school?"

"Not that I know of," he said slowly, "but _Louis?_ He doesn't seem…"

"The type?" Rose smiled. "Of course he doesn't. That's the point. Anyone could have looked into any of our wands, and they wouldn't have found any evidence of the charm at all."

Scorpius shifted his weight from one foot to the other, frowning. "And you thought that someone would be inspecting your wands because you were eavesdropping in a situation in which you were extremely unlikely to get caught?"

"Constant vigilance and all that." She shrugged. "James always says that once you start taking shortcuts, you deserve to get caught for being careless."

He studied her for a moment, and then shook his head. "Nice try. But I still think you have an invisibility cloak, even if you won't admit it. You're very good at lying, though."

"What makes you think I'm lying?" Rose made sure to keep her voice calm; if she sounded angry, that would be a dead give away.

"Because you'd just gotten out of the hospital wing, and Albus said you were in the Gryffindor common room for most of the evening. I know for a fact that Louis _wasn't_ in the library, because I was, and I didn't see him." Scorpius laughed. "What, am I supposed to believe that you somehow have a psychic connection with all of your cousins and he just _knew_ to come find you so he could put a disillusionment charm on you, and then hung around for however long you took so he could take it off? Come on. Give me some credit."

Rose frowned. "You probably _should_ have been in Ravenclaw. But all of your logic aside, you're still wrong. Weasley cousins have better ways of getting in touch with each other than luck and psychic powers." She knew that she probably looked immensely self-satisfied at the moment, but she couldn't find it in her to be especially bothered.

The thing was, Weasley cousins _did_ have better ways of getting in touch than luck or psychic powers or even owls, at least for very short messages. They had since Victoire and Fred had been in charms N.E.W.T. and decided that the cousins in different houses _should_ be able to do exactly what Rose was claiming she and Louis _had_ done.

They'd cast protean charms on ink bottles, because after all, there was absolutely nothing fishy about carrying around an ink bottle, and people were very unlikely to examine it closely. They weren't very practical for long messages, but they were exceedingly useful nonetheless.

Rose felt that Victoire and Fred had gotten away with rather a lot once you thought about it; _they_ certainly hadn't had an invisibility cloak. Of course, V and Fred had had other resources that even James and Roxanne had not been able to equal, but even so, almost no one even suspected that Victoire had had a hand in a good deal of the mischief that had probably been largely attributed to Fred.

"I don't doubt that," Scorpius was saying stubbornly. "But I still think that you have an invisibility cloak."

"What, do you think that all of us together could have saved our pocket money to afford an invisibility cloak?" Rose asked scornfully.

"I didn't say I knew _how_ you got it, just that I thought you _had._" He shrugged. "So it was Hugo and Lily in our common room, then? I hadn't even thought of them." He began walking again. "I guess that's the Weasley clan for you; they always keep you guessing."

"We do," she said proudly. "Don't underestimate us."

He laughed again. "Rose, I've been accusing you of having an invisibility cloak, despite the fact that they're incredibly rare and very expensive. I don't think that I'm underestimating you." He glanced at her. "I suspect that at least three of you are unregistered animagi, too."

"V and Fred are both registered animagi, actually."

He had clearly not been expecting that answer. "Really."

"Really. You ought to put more time into your homework. I looked up the registered animagi for an assignment two years ago. If you had, too, you'd have known that."

Scorpius paused. "Two, then."

Rose just shook her head. "One."

"Who?" he asked curiously. "No, never mind. You're not going to tell me, assuming you're even telling the truth. It's not you, is it? Because I really don't need something else to be paranoid about, especially now that I know that even my common room isn't safe."

"I told you I'd stop eavesdropping," she said irritably. "But no. It isn't me."

They walked in silence for a few minutes and then he said abruptly, "Do I have to meet your cousins tomorrow?"

Rose was slightly thrown by the question, and took a few moments to gather her thoughts before she could answer. "You have met my cousins. You've complained about James at length. And I'm fairly sure that you've at least met Fred and Dominique."

Scorpius shook his head. "It's different."

"It is, isn't it." She frowned. "Why? Do you want to?"

"No!" he exclaimed quickly, and then sighed. "Yes. Maybe."

"Can you possibly be more unclear?"

He looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know. Your family is intimidating. At the same time, meeting them would require you to admit that you were actually in a relationship with me, which is a definite upside."

"We're _not,_" Rose insisted. "I haven't decided yet."

He gave a tired sigh. "If you say so."


	31. Butterbeers, Interrogation, and Family

Butterbeers, Interrogation, and Family

Before she went to bed that night, Rose spent some time thinking about whether or not to introduce Scorpius Malfoy to her cousins.

On one hand, she _did_ rather like him, and if she kept on liking him, then, well, _eventually_ he would meet them. But there was a whole world in between a few weeks and any meaningful period of time, and given that she had thoroughly disliked him for the vast majority of their acquaintance, introducing him to her cousins as any kind of romantic interest would be rather little hasty. She also felt vaguely as though it could be considered a little melodramatic, but that was less of a concern.

On the other hand, she _did_ rather like him, and if she was being honest with herself, she had to admit that she wanted to know what they thought of him in a context outside of "Al's friend that was at his house when I was there for dinner that one time" or "Al's friend who I've said hello to twice when I passed them in the hall." And she almost felt as though seeing his face when surrounded by so many Weasley cousins would be almost worth any embarrassment she might feel.

By the time she was leaving for Hogsmeade the next morning with Hugo and Albus, however, Scorpius Malfoy was the last thing on her mind. After all, she was looking forward to a day spent with Dominique, Victoire, Teddy, and hopefully Fred (assuming he managed to get away from the shop for a bit).

"Did you know that Teddy was in France last week?" Hugo asked abruptly.

Rose saw her confusion mirrored on Al's face. "No, I didn't," she said. "What was he doing there?"

"He was in the catacombs. Finding treasure." Her brother grinned. "He found it, but apparently he had to get through all kinds of curses, he said it was _really_ cool."

She frowned. "Did he? When did you talk to him?"

"Oh, I got an owl from him just the other day. But I always get owls from him, we talk a lot."

"Since when?" Albus asked, looking a bit taken aback.

"Oh, since the start of term," Hugo said cheerfully. "He asked me how I was liking arithmancy. Hey, there they are!" He waved to the three figures standing together near the entrance to the village, and they waved back.

"Hello," Victoire called out as they approached. "I feel like I haven't seen all of you in ages."

"It's only been a few months," Teddy pointed out.

She smiled. "But so much can happen in a few months, can't it?"

Dominique rolled her eyes at Rose. "They're getting married next summer. I suppose you're going to have to get dressed up, too. They'll have a time finding a color that suits all of us that isn't black."

"Really?" Hugo asked. When Victoire and Teddy nodded, he grinned. "Congratulations!"

"I'm so happy for you," Rose told them, a smile spreading across her face as well.

Albus hugged them both. "Wow, Teddy, now you really _will_ be part of the family, and I don't have to live with James."

Teddy laughed. "Didn't your father quash that idea every time James brought it up?"

"Thankfully." Albus grinned. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Victoire was clearly trying to contain her excitement, but she wasn't being very successful.

Teddy wasn't trying at all.

Victoire peered into the groups of students. "Where is my brother? Have you seen him yet today?"

Just as they were shaking their heads, however, Louis emerged from one of the groups approaching them.

"Louis!" Victoire and Dominique cried simultaneously.

He hugged them both. "Hey, Vic. Hey, Domi."

She clearly could not contain herself. "I'm getting married."

His eyes widened. "Right now?"

"No, next summer, silly." She beamed.

He looked at Teddy. "You mean he's _actually_ going to be my brother-in-law?"

Teddy rolled his eyes. "Hey, Lou. Nice to see you too."

Louis grinned. "No, really, congratulations." He hugged Victoire again. "I'm happy for you."

This process was repeated three more times in the next fifteen minutes, with first the appearance of Lucy, and then Lily, and then finally James and Roxanne. By the time everyone had congratulated them and they'd begun to wander through the village, it was just after ten.

When they entered the Three Broomsticks that afternoon, Hugo and Lily saw several of their friends and went to sit with them. As the rest of them were at a table enjoying their butterbeers (or, in Teddy's and Dominique's case, firewhiskey), Fred seemed to appear from nowhere and pulled a chair up to their table.

"Hey. I thought I might find you here. I can't be away for too long, but Dad sends a few of their people to help on days that the Hogwarts students come in, so I ducked out for a bit. We're making a killing. The new swamps are already sold out. What did you lot _do_ with them?" Lily and Hugo grinned at each other over their butterbeers, and Fred laughed. "Well, keep doing it every time we have a new product." He turned to Victoire and Teddy. "Sorry I couldn't properly congratulate you earlier. That's terrific, really. I'm happy for you both." He laughed. "I can't say I'm surprised, but I'm happy."

As Teddy talked about his most recent trip to France, which apparently _had_ involved the catacombs, Rose saw Charlotte Finnegan walk into the Three Broomsticks with Evelyn Greengrass and Andrew Nott. She nudged Dominique and jerked her head toward them. Dominique looked over, stiffened a little, and turned determinately back to Teddy.

Charlotte, Evelyn, and Andrew sat down at a table near them. Lucy leaned over and began talking to Andrew about an astronomy assignment. After a moment of hesitation, Charlotte called over, "Hi, Dominique."

Dominique turned. "Oh, I didn't see you come in," she said breezily. "How are you?"

Charlotte shrugged. "A little busy. You know how seventh year is. How's training?" she asked, her gaze lingering on Dominique's newly-shorn hair and the bandage on her arm.

Dominique laughed gaily and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Terrific. No regrets at all." She noticed Charlotte looking at her arm, and gestured toward the bandage. "Got a burn off a Welsh Green on Tuesday."

"Looks nasty," Charlotte commented.

"It'll be mostly healed by next week." Dominique shrugged. "Really, this is nothing. You should see the burn Piper got three weeks ago, she needed to go into St. Mungo's for a few days."

Charlotte smiled tightly, and Victoire, who had clearly been listening to their conversation, cut in. "What are your plans for after Hogwarts these days, Charlotte?"

"I'm still thinking of becoming a Healer, assuming I get good enough marks on the N.E.W.T.s."

"I'm sure you will." Victoire smiled. "I never even considered Healing, myself. That would have required me to take Potions past fifth year, and I couldn't wait to be rid of it."

"Neither could I." Louis had also apparently been eavesdropping on them. "Domi's the only one in this family with any skill at potions."

"I have _skill,_" Victoire retorted, clearly stung. "I just _hated_ it. I got an E on my O.W.L., remember?"

"Healing is too boring for you two, anyway," Dominique cut in. "No offense, Charlotte."

"None taken," Charlotte said mildly. She always _had_ refused to rise to Dominique's bait. Rose admired that. If Dominique baited her like that, Rose knew that she'd probably just blow up. "Personally, I find dragons to be a little _too_ exciting." She paused, and then asked, "Would you like to take a walk? We should catch up. I haven't talked to you in months."

Dominique shrugged, as though it didn't make any difference to her at all. Rose was fairly sure she didn't believe the show of apathy, so she wasn't surprised when Dominique answered, "I suppose. It's nice out. The fresh air would be nice."

James had apparently been listening in on their conversation, too, because as Dominique got up, he said, "Right, because you never get fresh air, since dragons are really indoor creatures at heart." As she walked past him, Dominique smacked the back of his head lightly. "Hey!" She looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him. He grinned back. After the door had closed behind them, he leaned over to Rose and whispered, "Don't you wish we had the cloak with us?"

"Yes," she admitted softly.

"I've been practicing disillusionment charms, I could probably do them well enough that they wouldn't be able to see us—"

Victoire leaned over to them both and hissed, "No. You leave her be."

"But we're curious," Rose said.

Victoire gave them both a very severe look. "So ask her about it later."

"She might not tell us," James pointed out.

"If she doesn't tell you, she doesn't want you to know. Leave her be."

James scowled.

Rose frowned as a thought occurred to her. "Do you spy on me?"

"Nah." James took a drink from his butterbeer. "Your relationship isn't interesting enough. And unlike Dominique, you're willing to tell me about it."

"What relationship?" Victoire asked.

"I don't have one," Rose said quickly, wishing that she could kick James without anyone else noticing. "James has, though, he's gotten involved with Marion Thomas. You should ask him all about it."

Victoire, Teddy, Fred, and Lucy all looked at James with interest. "Really?" Fred asked.

James, however, unlike Rose, was very difficult to phase. "Seems like that," he said casually.

Louis did not seem nearly as interested by this. "Have you finally, then? It's about time. Hasn't she fancied you for years?"

This clearly _did_ take James by surprise. "Has she?" He furrowed his brow. "How would _you_ know?"

"How _wouldn't_ you know?" Louis countered. "It's so obvious."

"Wait, _how_ is it obvious?" Roxanne demanded. _"I_ didn't notice anything, and I spend most of my time with them."

"Well, you have the subtlety of a bludger," Fred pointed out.

"True," she acknowledged. "But still."

Louis shrugged. "You just need to pay attention." He took a sip of his butterbeer and added, "But you shouldn't let Rose distract you from _her_relationship."

Albus grinned. "Yeah, we shouldn't. She _has_ gotten herself a boyfriend, she's just not willing to call him that."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Rose snapped, a little louder than she'd meant to. Several people from surrounding tables were glancing at her, including Andrew and Evelyn—who, she remembered too late, were Scorpius Malfoy's cousins.

She felt her face start to burn.

"What _would_ you call him, then?" Albus asked. When she glared at him, he smiled. "I'm just wondering."

"I don't know. My friend."

Albus shook his head. "Do you sneak off to kiss all of your friends, then? I know most of them. You'd think I'd have noticed. Or at least heard about it."

"Oh, shut up." She ran her fingers through her hair. "You know, you're not helping."

"Were we meant to?" asked Roxanne. "I thought we were meant to embarrass you. My mistake."

"Who?" asked Victoire quickly, before Rose could respond.

Rose crossed her arms and looked resolutely out the window.

"Scorpius," Albus said. When she turned her gaze to glare at him, he was still grinning.

"Malfoy?" asked Victoire. "Your friend?"

Albus nodded, and Fred said, "But he's a Slytherin."

"Fred, haven't you gotten _past_ that by now?" Victoire sounded thoroughly exasperated, and Rose supposed that by this point, she had every right to. She'd been having this argument for years, and she always seemed to be outnumbered.

Teddy shrugged. "He has a point. Slytherins are bad news. Everyone knows that."

"Teddy, you're setting a bad example." She looked back at Rose, James, and Roxanne. "Not that they need a bad example. They do just fine on their own."

"They're already indoctrinated," Fred said lazily. "It's too late for them."

Victoire frowned, but after a moment, her expression cleared. "Maybe not, if Rosie is going out with—"

"I'm not," Rose said hurriedly. "And even if I _was_, that doesn't make all Slytherins okay. It just means that he is."

Victoire sighed. "You know, inter-house cooperation and unity _are_ possible, and won't hurt you in the slightest. _Any_ of you," she said, looking pointedly at Teddy and Fred.

James shook his head. "Sorry, V," he said. "It's just that we don't like Slytherins. And they don't like us," he said hurriedly. "You should have seen how much they were trying to hex us this last week."

"I thought you were playing Hufflepuff," she said, frowning.

"We _were,_" Roxanne said. "But they're bitter over last year and they think that Kitty only told them to lay off because she was still in love with Dominique. Or something like that."

"Is that their reasoning?" Louis asked. "It seemed stupid, so I didn't try to figure it out."

Lucy sighed. "Yes, it is," she said. "Apparently, Kitty told everyone to lay off and grow up because she was hoping the show of goodwill toward Dominique's cousins would win her over and ultimately get them back together."

Victoire, Teddy, and Fred all stared at them for a moment.

Then Fred and Teddy said, at the same time, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"It is," Victoire agreed after a moment. "That doesn't make sense. Kitty's well over Dominique by now."

"That's what we said." Rose was wondering if getting her typically tenacious cousins to let go of something as important as little-Rosie's-brand-new-boyfriend was going to really be as easy as falling into Slytherin bashing.

It wasn't, and she was rather irritated when Roxanne was the one to bring them back to what Rose was sure she considered "the point" of the conversation.

"I love to enumerate the many bad qualities of Slytherin house," she said, smiling, "but let's not get off the topic at hand. Which is Rosie's new boyfriend."

Rose felt rather like a cornered rabbit. She was starting to wonder whether it would be worth it to jinx a cousin or two to make an escape when James shook his head.

"Rosie, you _can't_ jinx us." He held up his arm. An innocent-looking charm was dangling off the cord around his wrist.

She scowled.

None of them had left Fred's shop without a shield charm.

"I think he's a perfectly nice boy," Lucy said. "Molly won't be pleased, though."

Rose gave her a questioning look. "I would have thought she'd be happy I wasn't with a Gryffindor."

"Well, she would be." Lucy sighed. "But you know Molly, she's also _very proper,_ and he's a known death eater's son." She held up a hand to fend off any protests. "I know. I know. And I agree. But that's Molly for you." She looked at Louis. "How do you know more about this than I do?"

Louis shrugged. "He's been following her around, and he doesn't seem to have been jinxed too badly. Other than the hair, which I thought was a stroke of genius." He raised his glass to James and Roxanne. "Good job. Or does Albus not know it was you yet?"

Albus snorted. "Albus knows it was them. Whether or not they all have _plausible deniability."_

"Plausible deniability is the cornerstone of any civilization," James told him seriously.

Lucy shook her head. "At any rate, _I_ think that he seems nice. Where is he? You didn't want to get everyone's approval?"

Rose put her head down on the table. "Leave me alone."

It would be just her luck if Scorpius walked into the Three Broomsticks just then.

"Hey, Scorpius!" Albus called. She jerked her head up and looked toward the door. There was no one there. She glared at Albus, and he laughed. She had just put her head back down onto the table when he called out again, and this time, she heard Scorpius' voice calling back.

She groaned and picked her head up off the table.

Scorpius separated from Noah and Claire and made his way toward them. "Hey, Al. Rose." He paused. "The rest of you. It'll take half the afternoon to name you all one at a time. No Dominique?"

"She's out walking with a friend," Louis said, pulling a chair over to their table. "Sit down and let us interrogate you."

Scorpius hesitated. "Only if Rose is okay with it, since I assume that's why I'm being interrogated."

Rose sighed. "Yes, it's fine."

"All right." He sat down. "It's only that it looks like you could fry an egg on your face, and that's usually not a good thing."

"Who's your team?" Teddy demanded.

"Pride of Portree," Scorpius said. He looked apprehensive; he clearly knew that one's Quidditch team could be a major factor in getting a person's approval. This was especially true in Rose's family, but she didn't see how he could know that.

Teddy's expression cleared. "Well, that cancels out the Slytherin, then. I'm a diehard Portree fan myself. Even if McDonnell is obnoxious. I've heard they're getting tired of him, though; did you see that they started Cooper instead yesterday?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I hadn't, no. How did Cooper do?"

"Got half their goals," Teddy said. "Though I think Anderson and Grant both passed when they could have shot, to make Cooper look even better. They're tired of McDonnell, too."

"Hold on," Fred said loudly. "Maybe Portree cancels out the Slytherin for you, but it just makes it worse for me. Portree aren't willing to play rough. They're always whining about being hit or fouled—"

"So says the Falcons fan," Teddy said scornfully. "No, seriously, Scorpius, don't listen to Fred. He doesn't matter."

Rose had to admit to some amusement when, fifteen minutes later, they were all still bickering about Quidditch teams. Quidditch really was a good ice-breaker. Scorpius had clearly relaxed a fair amount: he was arguing with Louis about whether how inconsistent the Tornadoes were season-to-season was due to simple bad luck when Dominique returned.

"Hello, Scorpius Malfoy," she said, sitting down.

He looked at her. "Hello, Dominique."

"We've been arguing about Quidditch teams," Fred told her, grinning.

"Who's your team?" Scorpius asked.

Rose had to stop herself from groaning and Dominique leaned back in her seat. "Arsenal."

Scorpius frowned. "Come again?"

"Arsenal," she repeated, folding her arms.

"Football," Rose said quickly. "Dominique thinks that football is better than Quidditch."

He opened his mouth, looking confused, and closed it again.

Teddy laughed. "Yes, we all think she's mad, too."

Rose expected Dominique to begin reciting her list of all of the reasons _why_ football was better than Quidditch, so she was surprised when her cousin led Teddy's comment go and instead asked, "What do you want to do when you leave Hogwarts, Scorpius?"

Dominique was clearly on her best behavior. Rose made a mental note to thank her later.

"I'm thinking about being a Healer," he said tentatively.

She nodded. "That's what my ex-girlfriend is going in for. Worthy profession. I hope you can patch me up when they wheel me in covered in hideous burns."

Well, maybe not her _best_ behavior.

Scorpius glanced at Rose. "It really does run in your family, doesn't it?"

Lucy cleared her throat. "Some of us are sane." When Louis raised his eyebrows at her, she smiled. "I'm just the only one sitting at the table right now."

Louis looked across the table at Scorpius. "How long have you liked Rosie for?"

Rose couldn't quite manage to stop herself from giggling at Scorpius's expression. He looked rather like a trapped animal looking frantically for an escape route.

Albus was scrutinizing his friend. "That's a good question. I don't think you've told me."

"No, probably not," Louis said. "It doesn't seem like something he'd want to tell you, judging from his expression."

In most situations, Victoire or Lucy probably would have told him to stop grilling Scorpius, but they were both clearly too interested in the answer to bother.

"I've changed my mind," Scorpius said abruptly. "I don't like Louis. Andrew and Evy are clearly delusional."

Louis shook his head. "Is the question really that hard to answer?"

"With Al breathing down my neck? Let me think about it." He paused. "Yes."

"Now I'm curious to hear what your answer is." Rose put her hands under her chin and smiled inquisitively.

He thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "I'm not answering that."

"More or less than a year?" she asked, her smile getting wider.

He laughed. "Nice try, Rose. When you say you're not answering a question, you can't answer it at all. Otherwise, people will get the answer by process of elimination."

Albus groaned. "I hate it when you do that."

"I know." As far as Rose was concerned, Scorpius looked far too pleased with himself just then. "Next question?"

"Don't you basically hate Gryffindors?" Fred asked, his tone still rather unfriendly.

Rose was not surprised. She had been expecting Fred, Roxanne, and Dominique to be more critical than the rest of her cousins. Fred and Roxanne both deeply disliked Slytherin house. Friendliness did not get you anywhere near as far with Fred or Roxanne as it did with Teddy, and they were less easygoing than James was. And Dominique… well, Rose already knew what her reaction was going to be.

Scorpius shrugged noncommittally. "I don't like arrogant people in general. Gryffindors tend to be arrogant."

"And Slytherins tend to be cowards," Fred said.

"This is a stupid conversation," Albus cut in. _"I_ call you out on being arrogant all the time."

"Family is different," Roxanne told him.

He shook his head. "This is a stupid conversation," he repeated. "Can everyone here please grow up?"

After a moment, Dominique asked, "If you don't like arrogant people, why are you interested in Rose?"

"I don't know." When Dominique raised her eyebrows, Scorpius added, "I'd really appreciate it if you all made an effort to remember that there are eight of you and one of me. You know, I didn't _have_ to sit down and get interrogated. I'm making an effort. And I'd _really_appreciate it if you _didn't_ call me a coward when I chose to get interrogated by all of you because I like your cousin."

Albus looked like he was hiding a smile, which didn't surprise Rose.

She said, "Well. This has been fun. Let's do it again some time."

Fred shook his head. "Don't bother leaving. I have to get back to the shop anyway, and I know that I'm the most obnoxious one." He frowned at Scorpius. "Don't take it too personally. You seem like an okay person. I just don't really like you."

"Thanks," Scorpius said dryly. "I'll try not to take that personally."

The corner of Fred's mouth twitched. "I'll see you all later. And V, Teddy, congratulations again."

"We just got engaged," Victoire said in response to the confusion on Scorpius' face.

"Congratulations," he said, smiling.

Teddy stretched. "I'm tired of sitting around. Lou, do you want to go get Hugo wander up to the shrieking shack?"

Louis stood up. "Sure." He looked at Scorpius. "Well, I expect I'll see you again, being as we all go to the same school, but you seem like a decent enough person. But, then, I knew that."

"You're fine in my book," Teddy said cheerfully. "Portree fans are very rarely bad people, and you're clearly a real fan."

"As opposed to what, Teddy?" asked Victoire. She looked as though she was trying to hide a laugh.

"As opposed to a fake fan. You know, the kind of person who just becomes a fan when the team starts winning and can't actually name most of the players."

Dominique smirked. _"I'm_ a real fan. I can name every player since Fàbregas became captain."

"Well, bully for you," Teddy, Louis, and Lucy said at the same time. They rolled their eyes at each other.

"At any rate," Teddy said, reaching out a hand, "it was nice to meet you."

Scorpius shook his hand. "You, too. Congratulations again."

"Thanks." Teddy looked at the rest of them and said, "It was good to see you all. Don't feel too compelled to behave yourselves. That's never fun." After he and Louis had departed, Dominique looked at Rose. "Rosie, can I have a word?"

"Sure," Rose said, getting up. She followed Dominique to a corner.

Dominique sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Rosie, he seems perfectly nice. Just don't get too caught up in the relationship." When Rose opened her mouth, Dominique gave her a withering look. "You're snogging him in random corridors. Just admit that you like him and are in a relationship with him already."

"Fine," Rose muttered. Sometimes, she hated the way Dominique could see right through her.

Dominique continued. "It's clear that he likes you a lot, and that's terrific and all, but there are so many more important things than boys. Don't give up anything just because of him. He really shouldn't enter into any of your decisions at all. If he can't adjust, he can find someone else."

Rose had known that this was exactly what Dominique was going to say. At least she was consistent.

Rose leaned against the wall. "So what did you and Charlotte talk about?"

She was pleased to see a faint tinge of pink in Dominique's cheeks. "Nothing," she said levelly.

"Oh, so you weren't talking, then?" Rose teased.

Dominique smiled. "We also walked." After a moment, she relented. "We were mostly talking. Honestly, I'm not going to get too fussed about it. If something has changed for her, that's good, and maybe it's worth another shot. If not, that's good too, and I'll find someone else eventually, it's not like there's a shortage of girls running around."

"Especially not for you," Rose teased.

The smile became a laugh. "Especially not for me." She jerked her head toward the table. "We should get back."

Not long after that, Dominique and Victoire regretfully got up, saying that they had to get going. After bidding them goodbye, Rose, the rest of her cousins, and Scorpius joined the crowd of students heading back up to the castle. After a few minutes, she realized that the rest of them had melted away, leaving her alone with Scorpius.

"It's probably my turn to apologize, huh?"

Scorpius looked at her sharply. "Why would you have to?"

"My cousins…" Rose trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence.

He laughed. "Oh, that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be."

"How bad did you _think_ it was going to be?"

"Worse than that," he said vaguely. "Look, don't worry about it. Most of them were perfectly nice." She gave him a skeptical look. "No, I'm serious. Don't worry about it."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before he reached out to hold her hand.

"So I was thinking," she said.

"Oh?"

"Dominique told me to stop being stupid."

Scorpius blew out a very frustrated breath. "Rose, there are about a million things that could mean."

"She told me to just admit I was in a relationship already."

"Yeah, well, I think people have been telling you to stop being stupid for awhile." He paused. "Or are you actually considering taking her advice?"

Rose laughed. "I'm taking her advice."

"Huh." Scorpius laughed. "If only I'd known that the blessing of your cousin would be enough. I wouldn't have bothered getting you a birthday present."

"My birthday was yesterday."

He shrugged. "Yeah, but if I'd met your family and you said 'Never mind' because they all hated me, I didn't want to have wasted the money." Rose wrinkled her nose, and he added, "Yes, yes, you poor thing, you _are_ going out with a Slytherin. You'll survive."

She turned and kissed him. "If you say so," she said skeptically.

He grinned. "I do."

* * *

Hey, guys. Thanks so much for reading!

I have a prequel called "Denial Is Not Just a River in Egypt" up, as well as a sequel called "The Wrinkles of the Road." You should totally check both of them out!


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